THE Blaze may be new on the block, but the future of South Coast's talent is already in safe hands.
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The Netball NSW Premier League's newest franchise completed their inaugural talent identification program with a session at Berkeley's Illawarra Sports Stadium on Sunday. The program, which launched in February, aimed to develop the skills of netballers between the ages of 14 and 18.
Special guests at Sunday's clinic included former Sydney Swifts stars Natalie Behl and Kimberlee Gilmour, who were on hand to provide advice and run drills with participants.
Behl, who also attended the first TIP clinic, said there was plenty of promising talent on display in Berkeley.
"I got to virtually see the real changes. There were a few coaches there every week who saw the changes as well. But for me, I was a bit blown away on Sunday to see how much they've all improved - it was quite amazing," Behl said.
"It was not just their court play, more their confidence. In the first session, they all looked scared rabbits. But on Sunday, they were really confident, happy to have a go, and their skill level and intensity had improved out of sight. It was unreal.
"There were a lot of girls, especially in the older age group, that were very impressive. I think the thing that I looked most, apart from the skill level, was their dynamic on court and their intensity level. It was a three-hour session, it's a long time with not much break, and some of these girls were going 100 per cent the whole time. That shows to me that they're keen, they really want to be there and improve, and they have the skills to pay the bills as well."
It has been a mixed bag for the Blaze's two teams in their inaugural Premier League campaigns.
With three regular rounds remaining, South Coast's under 23s side leads conference B while the franchise's opens side are in fourth place on their ladder.
Behl said it had been a difficult year for Blaze's opens, but believes the under 23s showed there were plenty of reasons to be excited about South Coast's future.
"The opens haven't done as well. But being in their first competition... it's going to take them a while to get up to that level," she said.
"But they're in good hands with [head coach] Marj [Parr] to do that, and she's obviously got experience in a lot of areas but particularly Premier League, so she's the right lady for the job.
"It's been super exciting for the under 23s. I think a lot of them are younger and once they get to a certain age, they can move on. I think it shows how exciting it's going to be for South Coast Blaze in the future when the under 23s go up to the opens."
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