Fran Fitzsimon’s dedication to mentoring young netballers has recently been recognised at the Netball Victoria Community Awards, after receiving the 2018 Coaching Excellence Award.
Fran was nominated by a group of players from the Bairnsdale Netball Association Juniors Squad Representative program, the initiative Fran herself pushed to make a reality.
An association built on teamwork and commitment, Fran was pleasantly surprised to be singled out by Bairnsdale for her efforts.
“Everybody helps out at Bairnsdale. Somebody has to drive it I guess, perhaps I’ve been the driver.”
“I feel it doesn’t just represent me, but it represents lots of coaches in the country areas that work really hard to give kids the opportunity to go to the next level.”
Fran believes when it comes to netball, it is more than just about teaching the game, it is about helping young girls grow to become confident young women with ambitions.
“Somebody needs to motivate the kids to aspire to get to the next level, especially in the country, there are lots of kids with a lot of ability that don’t get recognised and lack confidence in themselves when going along the talent pathways.”
“It’s important to have coaches to help them improve and build up that confidence to make them realise they can get to the next level.”
Over the past few years, the Bairnsdale Football Netball Club has grown from two teams to now having seven teams at each club.
“The little ones start with the association and once they get more competitive from the 15s upward then they go across to the footy league but also still play in our competition each week too. It all works out well.
“We have a really good relationship between the association and our footy netball league. They really work well together”
In 2018 Fran coached the Bairnsdale Football Netball Club 15 & Under team to a grand final. A result of her coaching abilities, eight players from the team were invited to Eastern Zone Academy trials.
“We’ve had a few girls go through and play in the Bupa Victorian Netball League and just miss out on state selection. Without all our coaches at junior level, those girls would never get there.”
With a clear community to support her, Fran says her future goals to develop young players into respectable umpires able to umpire local association matches to big league games.
“Recently my attention has been to mentor the young coaches. Now my kids are getting older and I’m getting older so I’m trying to get these new coaches through so they can take over.”
