Former Sting defender Jo Cunningham has been appointed
assistant coach of the Southern Steel.
Cunningham (nee Tapper) replaces Margaret Foster, who stood
down to pursue other coaching opportunities.
Cunningham's coaching resume includes a stint with the Sting
development team and two seasons at the helm of the Southland
under-19 team.
Under her guidance, Southland secured the Lois Muir Challenge
silverware last year - an achievement which earned Cunningham
the Netball Southland Coach of the Year award.
She has experience coaching in other codes, including
swimming and water polo.
She was eager to hone her skills further and the opportunity
for tutelage from heralded Steel coach Robyn Broughton proved
too tempting for the motivated mother-of-four.
"Learning - that's what I'm there for," Cunningham said in a
press release.
"Initially, I'm there to help Rob [Broughton] and implement
what she wants implemented . . . I'm sure there will be times
to express my opinion too, but ultimately I'm there to assist
her.
"It's such a step up from all other netball. The ANZ
Championship adds a whole different professionalism to the
sport, which is fantastic. It's been nice to see women's
sport take that step up. There's still a long way to go but
the future's exciting."
Broughton is no stranger to Cunningham's netball prowess
after coaching her for more than a decade, including six
years (1998-2003) during the all-conquering Sting era.
She was excited at rekindling a working relationship with
Cunningham, albeit with a different dynamic to their previous
one of player-coach.
"She was always a good, thoughtful reader of the game,"
Broughton said.
"Now she wants to progress her coaching career and she has
certainly got a lot to offer . . . she's got an excellent
academic background and the sports science side of the game
really interests her, too."
Cunningham donned both Otago and Southland representative
strips during her playing career.
Steel chief executive Julie Paterson said she was delighted
with Cunningham's appointment.
"She's an experienced coach who is passionate about
continuing her professional development and we're thrilled to
have her as part of the team."
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