COACHIN
to take a
A
POSTING to 3Bde in
Townsville is a two-edged sword
for netballer MAJ Jillian Joyce.
On the one hand, she, husband
Geoff and children Charlie, 4, and
Felix, 1, are rapt to be back in
Townsville... and would prefer to
not have to ever leave again.
On the other hand, being so far away
from the capital cities, has meant
forfeiting a burgeoning career as a
national coach in the sport she loves.
Jillian managed a week off to
coach the Mens U17 Australian
team and the Combined Mens
U17 and U23 team during the New
Zealand national titles last month.
As it turned out, her fi nal job as a
national coach was probably her most
satisfying, watching young men she
had introduced to the sport less than
six months ago earn their places in a
winning national representative team.
As a player, Jillian has had an
almost permanent relationship with
the Australian National Titles.
In 2012, she captained the fi rst ADF
Mixed team to compete at national
level, and returned with the same team
as coach the next year (pregnant with
daughter Charlie, she couldn’t play).
Posted at ADF HQ in Canberra, she
was appointed coach of the New South
Wales U23 mens team in 2015.
Last year, the discipline of travelling
to Sydney every weekend to coach
the team paid off when she steered
that team to NSW’s fi rst-ever
national win in that competition.
She was also the driving force
behind the re-establishment of a
netball association in the Australian
Capital Territory, recruiting ruthlessly
from other sports to fi nd talent.
And it was in the role of talent scout
she derived most satisfaction.
She coached the U17 ACT mens side
to victory in this year’s Australian
championships conducted at Easter.
Four of the players subsequently
selected in the national U17 team
were among those introduced
to the sport for the fi rst time
months previously by Jillian.
They played in the New Zealand
National Championships, and
performed creditably against
46 | OCTOBER 2017