Thursday 21 July 2016 15:15, UK
Severn Stars director of netball Anita Navin believes head coach Mo'onia Gerrard has the perfect skills to establish one of Superleague's newest franchises.
The Stars joined the Scottish Sirens and Wasps Netball in being given a licence for a new and expanded 10-team Superleague for next season.
Having been given the green light for 2017 it is now all systems go for the Stars, starting with the appointment of Gerrard.
The former Australian Diamonds star, who twice won the World Cup with her country, is moving to England with her partner, Australian rugby star Dave Dennis, who is joining Exeter Chiefs, and Navin revealed they moved swiftly to land their target.
"It has been a bit of a mad month or so trying to get everything organised but in the main we wanted to get a coach who would make a difference and that was a great relief," Navin told Sky Sports.
"We found out, almost by chance, that she was due to come over with her partner after he secured a contract with Exeter. So we were fortunate that were moving to the South West and we moved in quickly."
Gerrard made her name as a defender of great skill during her playing days and as well at those qualities, it is her ability to work and bring through younger players that appealed to the Stars as they seek to establish and build a team from scratch.
"She is a real winner and in terms of coaching experience already she has been supporting other coaches and working in the Victoria State League supporting the individual player development and she is keep to move talent through," added Navin.
"Speaking to Lisa Alexander [Australia Diamonds coach], she said she has a real passion and has a real creative mindset that she brings to coaching.
"As a player she was one of the most outstanding defenders around and I think she will bring that defensive mindset to the franchise. You can win games not by just [having] creative players but [with] strong defensive pressure throughout the court.
"She will bring a tactical mindset and give the squad a structure with a really user-friendly approach - we are looking forward to getting her on board."
Navin also revealed that discussions are underway in terms of adding to the netball staff and there is a balance to be struck, with the plan to bring in established names who can play their part off the court as well as on it.
"I've been acting as director of netball but we are looking to appoint someone in from the netball fray and an individual that can add more value," she added.
"The franchise is about getting hold of people in netball but moving them on in their careers as well.
"So the next step is Mick [Donovan, University of Worcester] and myself as initial leads in this franchise to step back a bit and bring in individuals who are younger and are actually running the franchise.
"[Having] Mo'onia with the team is exciting and we have a couple of discussions going on at the moment with some key players in terms of their playing ability but equally to do some management as a job in terms of the franchise as well."
