Hi all,

Welcome to the Garville State League and Reserve web page.

My name is Tonia Hutton, and I have been given the privilege of coaching the State League team for 2010.

From the time of my appointment, it has been a busy time, firstly assembling support staff, and secondly, bringing together a group of talented and committed netballers. It was a pleasant surprise to have so much support around me. My assistant and SL/R coach, Alice Johnswood, has been around the club at this level for many years. To have someone with so much experience has made my transition a relatively smooth one.

We have tapped in to the knowledge of Garville greats, Jenny Borlase and Josie Pearce. They have given us a different dimension to our coaching group, and are working closely with the girls to improve their skills and strategies. In October, Alice Jenny, Josie and I were delighted with the turnout of such great netballers to out trials. Over three trials, we chose a squad of 16 girls (+ 4 invitees) to start training in November.

Before Christmas, pre-season training involved three sessions per week, 2 weights and 1 running session. After Christmas, we included a skills session and varied the routine by lapping the Snake Pit and running up Mount Lofty (along with half of Adelaide that morning). Other pre-season activities included a fitness camp held at Morgan on the Murray River and 2 pre-season competitions. At Morgan, we had Jenny Williams run sport psychology sessions, Dr Mark Ralphe make health assessments on the girls, and Brenton Hay (Thunderbirds fitness coach) take the girls through their paces. The girls certainly slept well after that weekend.

The pre-season competitions made a welcome change to our routine. The Netty 20 was a fast paced format, which gave each team a small taste of what was to come. Playing the Thunderbirds was a highlight, one which the girls won’t forget – they were so big! The Netball SA pre-season tournament gave us more of an opportunity to try combinations and provided a great measuring stick of where we were at. Our intentions were to “rattle a few cages”, of which we did quite well. These competitions certainly did highlight the areas for improvement, both strategically and physically.

We are very fortunate to have experts in their professions, give their time to help our team. Marika Scicluna, our physio, is at every game to support our athletes. Troy volunteers as our massage therapist, (and along with Jenny Williams and Dr Mark Ralphe) we are thankful for their services and are very eager to re pay them with a successful season.

I would like to also acknowledge the hard work of the committee. I know there are many meetings, and many hours put into making the club function as well as it does. On a personal note, without the help of my team manager, Fiona Madigan, club President, Helen Buvinic and committee members (esp Tracy White and Jo Knapp), Alice and I would be a rudderless ship. Thank you so much for your support and direction.

Although it seemed to take a long time to come, Game Day was what we were looking forward to. Have we done enough work? Did we have the right combinations? So many questions…..

We look forward to finding the answers,

Tonia Hutton