Coach Thenneh had the opportunity recently to attend a Defensive Coaching Workshop lead by one of the top international defenders, Ex – Australian Diamond Captain Sharni Layton
At Evolution Netball we strive to make our program as detailed and thorough as possible in order to give our members access to high quality coaching and content. Learning from international coaches and players ensures our program is high quality and representative of what is being coached across and international circuit.
Coach Thenneh had the opportunity recently to attend a Defensive Coaching Workshop lead by one of the top international defenders, Ex – Australian Diamond Captain Sharni Layton. Sharni has been part of the international netball circuit for over 10 years – playing for the number 1 team in the world – she is known for her hustling style of defence, effective communication skills and inspiring leadership skills. Having won two World Championships and a Commonwealth Gold Medal she has a netball career that any player would aspire to achieve.
The workshop took place in Dubai and was focused around the fundamental skills needed to be an effective defender. Sharni replicated one of her own personal training sessions and demanded 100% intensity from all coaches that were taking part in the workshop – Coach Thenneh was on the other end of training for a change.
Starting with the essential skills of defensive footwork – Sharni provided skills and drills which focused primarily on the technical ability to move round attackers and attack the ball at speed. As a component of our Netball program defensive footwork provides the basis for all our defenders to develop on their ability to track and hustle an attacker. Core to the whole workshop was “Train like you Play and Play like you Train, at 100%”.
Following this section, the workshop moved on to effective man to man defence and how to create the illusion of space in order to force a high ball. During this section the rugby contact pads were brought out- watch this space Evo Netballers!
Having the opportunity to work alongside a legend of the game was a once in a lifetime opportunity, which reinforced all that we coach here at Evolution Netball. Coach Thenneh was certainly pushed to her limits and walked away from the workshop with lots of new ideas and drills for all our squads (and an extremely sore body)! A true sporting inspiration we hope that it is not long before Sharni makes a trip over to Qatar!
