Yvette McCausland-Durie Photo: Photosport
Highly regarded New Zealand netball coach, Yvette McCausland-Durie, has been appointed specialist coach for the Fiji Pearls ahead of the Netball World Cup in South Africa this July.
In a ground-breaking development, the Ako Coaching Initiative NWC23 between Netball Fiji, Netball New Zealand (NNZ) and Netball Central Zone (NCZ) provides the first opportunity for one of NZ's leading high-performance coaches to work alongside and provide support to other nations at the World Cup.
McCausland-Durie, who is the current head coach of the Central Pulse, and was named 2022 Coach of the Year, will support Fiji head coach Una Rokoura in the team's preparation for the Cup.
Members of the Fiji Pearls team Photo: Facebook/Netball Fiji
She will head to Suva on Friday for a nine-day camp with the Pearls, who are also set to have a camp in Wellington in May. In the New Zealand capital they will continue their preparation with specialised training while also having an opportunity to watch National Netball League games.
The Ako Coaching Initiative is a unique approach. In Te Ao Māori, the concept of ako means both to teach and to learn. It is underpinned by reciprocal relationships and recognises the knowledge that both coaches bring to learning interactions. Ako acknowledges the way that new knowledge and understandings can grow out of shared learning experiences.
The shared vision is that two coaches from two countries will build a strength-based campaign that will optimise the performance of the Fiji Pearls at the World Cup.