Thunderbirds leadership group announced
Posted: Mon Apr 16, 2007 10:50 amMedibank Adelaide Thunderbirds into new season with revamped leadership
Medibank Adelaide Thunderbirds Season Launch
The Medibank Adelaide Thunderbirds don’t just head into season 2007 with a new coach, they are also taking to the court with a totally revamped approach to player leadership which will be announced at the Season Launch on Tuesday 17th April.
New coach Tania Obst has already stamped her mark on the squad in the build-up to the team’s first Commonwealth Bank Trophy game against nemesis the Sydney TAB Swifts in Sydney on April 27.
Now she has changed the way the players handle their on-court responsibility. Opting out of the traditional captain and vice captain role, Obst instead has introduced a leadership group that will work with return captain Laura von Bertouch to guide the team during games.
Obst says by spreading the responsibility it also gives more of the team’s senior players the chance to have input in the team’s performance during the year and more people for the younger players to turn to. She says with the demands of training, travel, playing and still trying to run careers, senior players only have so much extra time to work with other members of the squad.
“But if we have more than two players – and this year we have four – then we are able to help share that load and, I believe, be more effective,†Obst says.
“Laura has been an outstanding leader for us in every aspect, and I guess Marg (retired coach Marg Angove) was moving in this direction when she established the co-captain roles between Laura and Peta Scholz,†she says.
“But with Peta not yet back from the birth of her second daughter, I felt we had the opportunity to expand the involvement of some of our more established players in leading the whole squad.
“The girls have taken to it very well and I think while it is experimental we are not exactly breaking new ground – this type of team management has been used successfully in other sports for a number of years.â€
The inaugural Medibank Adelaide Thunderbirds leadership group is:
Laura von Bertouch – captain
Natalie von Bertouch
Fiona Pointon
Kristen Hughes
Obst says the roles of the players also means the whole court is covered by the leadership group.
The von Bertouch sisters cover the mid court while Kristen Hughes (nee Heinrich) covers the forward third and Fiona can work with the defenders.
“These girls are all established national, or international, players and also have a lot of experience and maturity so individually and collectively they will have a lot to offer the team,†Obst adds.
“I think the coaching and management group will also find them good to work with because as a group they will be able to provide us with feedback about things we might not necessarily pick up on,†she says.
“That has all got to be good for the team and this year we have to be very good if we are going to improve as much as we need to win the competition.
“Every step we can take to get everyone more closely involved in that goal, working together, has to be good for us all.â€
Medibank Adelaide Thunderbirds Season Launch
The Medibank Adelaide Thunderbirds don’t just head into season 2007 with a new coach, they are also taking to the court with a totally revamped approach to player leadership which will be announced at the Season Launch on Tuesday 17th April.
New coach Tania Obst has already stamped her mark on the squad in the build-up to the team’s first Commonwealth Bank Trophy game against nemesis the Sydney TAB Swifts in Sydney on April 27.
Now she has changed the way the players handle their on-court responsibility. Opting out of the traditional captain and vice captain role, Obst instead has introduced a leadership group that will work with return captain Laura von Bertouch to guide the team during games.
Obst says by spreading the responsibility it also gives more of the team’s senior players the chance to have input in the team’s performance during the year and more people for the younger players to turn to. She says with the demands of training, travel, playing and still trying to run careers, senior players only have so much extra time to work with other members of the squad.
“But if we have more than two players – and this year we have four – then we are able to help share that load and, I believe, be more effective,†Obst says.
“Laura has been an outstanding leader for us in every aspect, and I guess Marg (retired coach Marg Angove) was moving in this direction when she established the co-captain roles between Laura and Peta Scholz,†she says.
“But with Peta not yet back from the birth of her second daughter, I felt we had the opportunity to expand the involvement of some of our more established players in leading the whole squad.
“The girls have taken to it very well and I think while it is experimental we are not exactly breaking new ground – this type of team management has been used successfully in other sports for a number of years.â€
The inaugural Medibank Adelaide Thunderbirds leadership group is:
Laura von Bertouch – captain
Natalie von Bertouch
Fiona Pointon
Kristen Hughes
Obst says the roles of the players also means the whole court is covered by the leadership group.
The von Bertouch sisters cover the mid court while Kristen Hughes (nee Heinrich) covers the forward third and Fiona can work with the defenders.
“These girls are all established national, or international, players and also have a lot of experience and maturity so individually and collectively they will have a lot to offer the team,†Obst adds.
“I think the coaching and management group will also find them good to work with because as a group they will be able to provide us with feedback about things we might not necessarily pick up on,†she says.
“That has all got to be good for the team and this year we have to be very good if we are going to improve as much as we need to win the competition.
“Every step we can take to get everyone more closely involved in that goal, working together, has to be good for us all.â€
