Tasmanian Magpies will have a Victorian head coach in the 2018 season, with Kate Upton unveiled as the replacement for outgoing boss Jon Fletcher.
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Upton enters the fold from the Magpies’ Super Netball affiliate Collingwood, where she has spent the past year as assistant coach after joining the club in 2016.
“It’s really exciting to be given the opportunity,” Upton said of her appointment.
“I’m looking forward to building that relationship with Tasmania, as well as working with and developing the athletes and staff involved in the program.”
Hobart-based Fletcher led the Magpies to a sixth-place finish in their first season in the reformed ANL competition.
Netball Tasmania chief executive Aaron Pidgeon, who served under Fletcher as an assistant coach last season, said the outgoing boss had laid a great foundation but that a Victorian-based coach was the best way forward for the club.
“We were really pleased with Jon Fletcher last year, he did a fantastic job and has given us a really good platform to build on,” Pidgeon said.
“Looking at the way we’re structuring the squad and (how) it fits in with Collingwood, having a coach based in Victoria provides us with a better opportunity to have the voice in the right place.
“We believe in the short term it’s better to have someone who’s within the Collingwood program for consistency of communication and message, it’ll provide a lot more consistency to the players so that’s one of the benefits of making the appointment of somebody in Victoria.”
Pidgeon said he was excited by the combination of Upton’s knowledge of Collingwood methods and passion for developing Tasmanian players.
“The most exciting thing for me in talking to Kate is the genuine want to develop a relationship between Collingwood and Tasmania, develop all the athletes equally and make sure our Tasmanian athletes get a high level of exposure and... help them reach the top level.
“That’s a real focus for her and that’s exciting for Tasmania.”