Jane Searle will return to the Netball Victoria pathway, with Victorian Netball League club Wilson Storage Southern Saints as head coach and championship coach for 2022.
No stranger to the coaching ranks in Australia, Searle’s resume includes head coach at the Victorian Institute of Sport for 13 years, head coach of the West Coast Fever in 2009, and more recently being an assistant coach for the Adelaide Thunderbirds.
Searle coached the Saints from 2012 to 2015 and was the integral part to their VNL premiership in 2014, but this time around, Searle looks to offer something a bit different for the 2022 season, after having spent the last few years as head coach of the Brunei national team.
The experienced coach, known for her incredible knowledge of game and her fearless competitiveness, looks to bring the same energy back to the team in 2022.
“I've coached for a long time and especially now being exposed over the last couple of years to the Asian netball and just having a look and seeing, how they play the game…they move the ball a little differently than what we do in Australia,” said Searle.
“I think what I'm good at is assessing teams and their strengths and weaknesses and finding out how to progress the team in the best way and how to exploit opposition teams weaknesses, so I'm looking forward to doing that again with the Saints,” says Searle.
The Saints championship side unfortunately had a disappointing 2021 campaign, only winning one game for the Covid-disrupted season.
Searle looks to bring a new focus to the club, explaining her main goal for the 2022 season is to keep the team positive to help bring success back to the Saints.
“I think the first one is you need to enjoy what you're doing,”
“Having a positive environment where players and young coaches can excel and develop, I think that sets the scene” says Searle,
“I'm looking to bring success to the Saints.”
Joining Searle on the bench in 2022 will be new assistant championship coach Leah Percy, who played under Searle in the 2014 VNL final series and was awarded best player.
