BRENDAN LINES
THE Adelaide Thunderbirds are just days away from landing for their highly anticipated Super Netball League preseason clash with the West Coast Fever in Berri this Friday night.
The Thunderbirds tackle the Riverland match – dubbed the Mighty Murray Clash – fresh off a win against the Melbourne Vixens in Ballarat on Sunday.
For Thunderbirds’ star-defender Shamera Sterling the preseason road trip brings the Jamaican to the Riverland for the first time.
“I’ve been looking forward to giving as many people as possible a look at netball who don’t live in Adelaide,” Sterling said.
Sterling will play a feature part in the club’s coaching clinics coinciding with the visit, to be held at Toyota Arena this Saturday morning.
The 25-year-old said she “did not have the privilege” of coaching clinics in her home country as a junior netballer.
“Jamaica is not a country where players will come out to teach often,” she said. “I started going to netball (training) when I started watching the Sunshine Girls (in Jamaica) and I joined the under 16 team.”
Sterling said the hands-on coaching clinics would be a chance to give back to juniors and teach some “tricks” of the trade.
“It’s something I have a lot of interest in and I’m looking forward to… it keeps the sport going,” she said.
“They’ll definitely learn from me something about defending and some of the tricks that I have.”
The Commonwealth Games bronze medallist said despite the Thunderbirds being in preseason match-winning form there is still work to be done.
“The environment within the squad is quite good and we gel well together,” Sterling said.
“Our ball movement is very good compared to the other years I’ve played.
“But thankfully this is preseason. What we haven’t got right, we will now hopefully get it right by the start of the season.”
Chrissy Eleftheriadis, coach of the Berri Netball Club, said junior netballers still had plenty of opportunity to attend the coaching clinics.
“Registrations are still open for the netball clinic on Saturday morning,” she said.
“It’s open to all players in the Riverland.
“Players from five to 13 years old can register online via the Thunderbirds’ website.”
The Mighty Murray Clash will feature an under 17 ‘North versus South of the River’ curtain raiser between composite teams of players from Renmark, Berri, and Barmera (North) against Loxton, Loxton North and Waikerie (South) netball clubs.
The ‘North versus South of the River’ match begins at 5.30pm.
The Mighty Murray Clash kicks off 7pm at Toyota Arena this Friday.