NSCnews Online nscOctober_2017 | Page 46

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