Nor'West News: January 22, 2019

NOR’WEST NEWS Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Tuesday January 22 2019 15
eluctant netballer to top coach
• By Georgia O’Connor-Harding
WHEN SARA Norton was
11-years-old she was reluctantly
dragged out onto the netball
court – and she vowed to never
play the sport again.
“I couldn’t shoot and I hated it
. . . that was my only experience
with netball,” she said. Now
three decades later, the Avonhead
resident has been presented with
a major coaching award from
Netball New Zealand.
Norton, 44, was named
community coach of the year at
the 2018 Netball Coach Awards
Norton credits her youngest
daughter for starting her career
in netball. Fifteen years ago,
her then six-year-old daughter
decided she wanted to play
netball.
But because the primary school
she attended had no coach,
Norton had no choice but to “step
up.”
While she had to “very
quickly” teach herself how to
teach others to play the game,
she soon found she had a flair for
coaching.
The Hornby Netball Club
coach and Christchurch Netball
Centre junior co-ordinator said
she “couldn’t believe it” when she
won the award.
“I do a lot of coaching and
I work really hard. I do that
because I want to do my best for
TOP COACH: Avonhead’s Sara Norton, who was named Netball New Zealand community coach
of the year, with her Hornby Netball Club Founders Trophy.
the girls that I coach. But never
at any point did I even think
about things like (the award). It is
incredible,” she said.
The award capped off a big year
for Norton who was presented
the Founders Trophy by Hornby
Netball Club founder Lynlea
Willan at the September senior
prize-giving.
She was then awarded coach
of the year by the Christchurch
SPORTS
Netball Centre.
Norton said she is happiest as a
coach when she sees a player who
has struggled in the sport make
an improvement by the end of the
netball season.
“If you can get good results that
is fantastic, but there are always
going to be times when your
results aren’t so good,” she said.
Norton said a key thing is
being able to get people on the
team involved in their own
learning.
“Most people want to be better
at what they are doing and the
only way of doing that is if they
are actually doing it,” she said.
“We have got some wonderful
league players, wonderful rugby
players, basketball, netball. You
name it, we have got it,” she said.
Norton has coached more than
20 teams, including Hornby
Senior A, Middleton Grange A
and the under-14 Christchurch
Netball Centre representative
teams.
“I think for anyone who takes
coaching seriously, being able to
do it professionally is always the
goal . . . if I can take it further
great, and if I can’t, I will just
keep on going.”
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Cathy Falconer
Phone 027 660 1920
cathy.falconer@mikepero.com
Ian Falconer
Phone 027 849 0404
ian.falconer@mikepero.com
Mike Pero Real
Estate Ltd. Licensed
REAA (2008)