Noel Halton has his eye on the prize ahead of the Marie Little Shield with the assistant coach eager to get the best out of his players.
“It’s exciting for me to be part of Marie Little Shield and I know it’s exciting for the girls to get back into it and head to Sydney,” he said.
Halton’s coaching journey began 10 years ago and he hasn’t looked back since, highlighting the many positives that have come from his experience.
“I started coaching in our local town because my daughter wanted to play under 13s netball, and we couldn’t get a coach. I had no idea about netball, but I used to coach Auskick so I put my hand up to do it and then started doing my accreditation,” he said.
“As soon as I started coaching netball, I just fell in love with it and the rest is history. I started to get involved with Talent Identification with Netball Victoria and I’ve followed that path and loved it ever since.”
Over the years Halton has built up his coaching knowledge in various fields, but it wasn’t until five years ago that he ventured into the All-Abilities space.
“The Belvoir Special School in Wodonga was looking for a coach for an eight-week program to get them ready for an interschool carnival. I put my hand up for it, thinking it would be a great challenge and it just sparked my interest straight away.
“They were a fantastic bunch of people. They just wanted to be the best netballers they could be, they were all so attentive and wanted to learn. It was very fulfilling and rewarding as a coach to have a group that are so keen and eager to learn,” he said.
Noel’s passion for netball drove him to apply for a coaching role for the Marie Little Shield, an opportunity that he feels greatly honoured to have received.
“It’s unbelievable to be involved, I feel privileged. I travel from Rutherglen, so it’s a six-hour round trip for me each week but I get in the car and I just can’t wait to get down there. The playing group has just been fantastic,” he said.
The long hours in the car don’t seem to dampen Halton’s enthusiasm.
“Knowing that I’m going down and spending two hours with the playing group, they’re just a delight. They’re all full of personality, everyone is so keen and that’s all the motivation I need.”
When looking at the squad, Halton is excited to see what the players can do out on court and how far they have developed from their first training session to now.
“The development has been unbelievable. What I’m most excited about is the combinations that we’ve formed – you can see what combinations seem to work well and the players are really starting to gel as a unit, and I think that’s going to hold us in really good stead.”
Halton believes the Marie Little Shield is a great opportunity for the athletes to represent their state and showcase how netball can bring people together.
“The build-up and the excitement of representing their state, you can just see it on their faces and they’re really excited to go away and wear their uniforms with pride. It’s fantastic for them, they just want to play the best netball that they can and that’s really pleasing.”
The Marie Little Shield will run from 26-28 October in Sydney. View the full fixture.
