Johannesburg - It is fair to say that the SPAR Proteas have never been under this much scrutiny as they prepare to play host to 15 other nations in July during the Netball World Cup in Cape Town.
Much will be expected of the team, and there is a general sense that they must improve on their fourth-place finish during the last iteration of the showpiece event in 2019. That year, they narrowly lost to finalist Australia in the semi-finals, before being overwhelmed by England in the bronze medal match a day later.
With the 2019 tournament held in Liverpool, however, scrutiny of the South African performance was far-removed from their everyday South African. That will not be the case this year, with them playing under the noses of the nation.
That brings its own pressures and anticipation, a mental facet in their preparation that head coach Norma Plummer and Co are keenly aware of.
“We have to make sure that the players are not overloaded and that they know what the priority within the team is,” the 72-year-old mentor said in an exclusive interview with Independent Media, regarding that mental preparedness.
“There is excitement and some of them haven’t played in front of huge crowds like this. For us, it will be about concentrating on training and getting their focus on what we are doing on the court, constantly pulling it back to that. I am confident I can control that.”
While there will be that psychological aspect that will have to be monitored daily, Plummer revealed that when it comes to physical readiness, the Proteas are ready for the fight.
Said Plummer: “The best move Netball South Africa made was opening up and going to Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, and setting up a scholarship-type program for the players so that they could be there on a daily basis.
“That way, they had access to everything. Certainly, the strength and conditioning program was one where some of those players were a little bit under done because they don’t do it in their club situation.
“We needed power, strength, and a program to get these girls going and they have come off it very well. We did tests from the very first day of the camp.
“Jeante Strydom finished up running 19.10 (seconds) on the yo-yo. Only Bongi (Msomi – the captain of the Proteas) has got into the 18s.
“So, here is a young player that absolutely stood up. All the results were very good, so I was very pleased.”
The bulk of the 15-player squad will participate in the upcoming Telkom Netball League’s second leg, which starts in Pretoria next week. Four international players – Lenize Potgieter, Ine-Mari Venter, Shadine van der Merwe and Karla Pretorius – will join their teammates next month.
The other two internationally-based players – Lefebre Rademan and Elmere van den Berg – are already with the team. Plummer was confident that despite the absence of the former, such is their veteran status that they will all slot into the team with ease.
“They should be back around June 21,” she said. “Some of them will be in finals overseas.
“They will come back (into the squad) in Cape Town on July 14. The players that are coming back need a break.
“They have played pre-seasons, they have played the Quad Series at the start of the year, they have continued straight into competition, they are travelling each week and playing – especially Karla.
“They won’t be used too much in that time when we are coming together,” Plummer added.
“We will go very hard for the first week and pull it all together. Remember, we’ve got very mature players coming back that know the ropes. They will slot in easily.
“We know the players ability and they want to make sure that all of this is a success, just as much as the rest of the team and the coaches.”
The Proteas start their World Cup campaign on July 28 against Wales on the opening day of the tournament.
@FreemanZAR
IOL Sport