Kiwis Abroad – Ruth Aitken
July 30, 2015
Ruth Aitken is preparing for her fourth consecutive Netball World Cup … but this time she’s in charge of a very different group of players.
Aitken’s heading to Sydney with Singapore, a different proposition from the Silver Ferns of 2003, 2007 and 2011.
Aitken became national coach of Singapore in 2013, having ended her tenure of close to 10 years as New Zealand coach two years earlier.
She’s one of several New Zealanders coaching other countries; Kate Carpenter with Fiji, Gail Parata Scotland and Marcia Hardcastle Samoa.
Her presence also means the women who coached the last five world champion sides will be in Sydney, with Jill McIntosh there as technical director of Jamaica and Norma Plummer coach of South Africa’s SPAR Proteas.
Aitken says the biggest differences between coaching in Singapore as opposed to New Zealand is the much smaller body shape of the players and the much smaller playing numbers. There’s also the hurdle of limited time available for training, with most players in either fulltime work or study.
Singapore is ranked 17th in the world and is grouped in Pool C along with Malawi, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Singapore finished 15th out of 16 teams in 2011 so Aitken will be aiming to improve on that.
Keen observers of the game will enjoy the renewed rivalry between Aitken and Plummer. They ended their trans-Tasman battles with honours relatively even - the Australian with two World Championships, Aitken with just one, but two Commonwealth Games gold medals on top of that.
Aitken says it¹s pretty obvious both women remain passionate about Netball and
helping teams perform to their best. She’s sure there’ll be a wry smile to each other and a silent acknowledgement of battles past.
When it comes to players to watch, she mentions two of her most experienced; captain Micky Lin and Premila Hirubalan. Both are circle defenders and although not overly tall by our standards have great elevation and athleticism.
Aitken is confident her team will surprise a few teams, but adds just how that will translate into wins on the board is the real unknown.
Whatever happens, Aitken will stay in Singapore for another year, having recently signed a one year contract extension through to July 2016.
Netball fans will be able to watch all Silver Ferns NWC2015 matches live on SKY Sport (check local guides) – tell me more.
You can take your support of the Silver Ferns to the next level, by becoming a SilverFan. Join the team and become a SilverFan today!
Aitken’s heading to Sydney with Singapore, a different proposition from the Silver Ferns of 2003, 2007 and 2011.
Aitken became national coach of Singapore in 2013, having ended her tenure of close to 10 years as New Zealand coach two years earlier.
She’s one of several New Zealanders coaching other countries; Kate Carpenter with Fiji, Gail Parata Scotland and Marcia Hardcastle Samoa.
Her presence also means the women who coached the last five world champion sides will be in Sydney, with Jill McIntosh there as technical director of Jamaica and Norma Plummer coach of South Africa’s SPAR Proteas.
Aitken says the biggest differences between coaching in Singapore as opposed to New Zealand is the much smaller body shape of the players and the much smaller playing numbers. There’s also the hurdle of limited time available for training, with most players in either fulltime work or study.
Singapore is ranked 17th in the world and is grouped in Pool C along with Malawi, South Africa, and Sri Lanka. Singapore finished 15th out of 16 teams in 2011 so Aitken will be aiming to improve on that.
Keen observers of the game will enjoy the renewed rivalry between Aitken and Plummer. They ended their trans-Tasman battles with honours relatively even - the Australian with two World Championships, Aitken with just one, but two Commonwealth Games gold medals on top of that.
Aitken says it¹s pretty obvious both women remain passionate about Netball and
helping teams perform to their best. She’s sure there’ll be a wry smile to each other and a silent acknowledgement of battles past.
When it comes to players to watch, she mentions two of her most experienced; captain Micky Lin and Premila Hirubalan. Both are circle defenders and although not overly tall by our standards have great elevation and athleticism.
Aitken is confident her team will surprise a few teams, but adds just how that will translate into wins on the board is the real unknown.
Whatever happens, Aitken will stay in Singapore for another year, having recently signed a one year contract extension through to July 2016.
Netball fans will be able to watch all Silver Ferns NWC2015 matches live on SKY Sport (check local guides) – tell me more.
You can take your support of the Silver Ferns to the next level, by becoming a SilverFan. Join the team and become a SilverFan today!