Victoria’s All Abilities team has the recipe for success.
With coaching duo Naomi Linossier and Noel Halton at the helm again this year, the team is taking their classic Victorian style of play to the balmy courts of Brisbane to defend their 2023 Marie Little Shield title.
The Marie Little Shield is Netball Australia’s national championship for women with an intellectual disability. The competition was named after Marie Little OAM, a netballer who dedicated her life to those with an intellectual disability.
Like any story of yin and yang, Naomi and Noel have something special that all coaches strive for: a shared philosophy, admiration and balance between each other, despite their differences.
“We really click as a duo,” Head Coach Naomi said.
Naomi advanced through the coaching pathway after high school and tested different sports before joining Victoria’s Marie Little Shield program in 2018, while Noel is a seasoned campaigner.
“Noel’s from the high performance pathway and there's just this sense that we complement each other's knowledge. And that's what you want in a coaching partnership – we trust each other in the decisions that we make.”
Noel began his coaching career with his daughter’s 13&U team at Rutherglen and honed his passion coaching an all abilities mixed team at Belvoir Special School in Wodonga. He also assists at the pre-elite level at North East Blaze in the Victorian Netball League, and has applied similar goals for this Marie Little Shield team.
“We've got a target on our back this year, so the outcome is to try and win the tournament again,” Noel said.
“But at the end of the day, as long as everyone goes away and competes at their best and enjoys the competition, that's all you can ask for.”
For Naomi, coaching an all abilities side also comes with a balance of achieving social outcomes as well as the on-court success.
“I really want to see them connect as a team and combine in a way where they really understand the gameplan,” Naomi said.
“I want them to play that classic smart and short Victorian style that we see throughout the pathways at Netball Victoria. They won the Shield last year, so to go back-to-back as champions would be pretty special.”
It’s a philosophy both Noel and Naomi share and goes back to why the two netball lovers chose coaching in the first place.
“I love coaching, I love seeing people enjoy sport, achieve their goals and progress in whatever it is they do,” Naomi said.
“This Marie Little Shield is one of the best things I've ever done in sport – to see that no one has lost what it means to just play netball with your friends and compete. Especially when you're competing for your state, that's something really special that not a lot of people get to do. I feel very lucky to be a part of that.”
The 2024 Marie Little Shield will be open and free to the public from 6-8 September at Nissan Arena in Brisbane, with all matches being streamed live across the weekend via KommunityTV. For the first time, all states and territories will be represented in the event, with Tasmania debuting its side in September.
The Victorian team and tournament fixture will be released in the coming weeks.
