\u201cThe management group need to be in the UK. I truly believe Noels and Debs [Fuller, her assistant coach] can take the Ferns to the next level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dame Noeline Taurua is set to return as Silver Ferns coach. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Foster doesn\u2019t stop there and feels the governing body needs to go a step further.<\/p>\n
\u201cNetball New Zealand need a complete reset and also need to make more of a public apology to Noels. They really did attack her integrity and her mana,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been a long seven weeks since Taurua was sensationally stood down as national coach just days out from the Taini Jamison Trophy series against South Africa.<\/p>\n
Breakdowns in talks over proposed changes to the Silver Ferns programme were behind the stand-down of Taurua and her coaching staff, and what followed brought a constant rumble of discontent from the public, unprecedented pressure on the Silver Ferns playing group and even attention from Sport Minister Mark Mitchell, who wanted the issue resolved as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
Whether or not they were bowing to public pressure, Netball NZ confirmed in a statement on Saturday that Taurua would be reinstated immediately, after both parties agreed to \u201cimplement enhancements to support wellbeing and performance, including strengthening the player voice\u201d.<\/p>\n
However, the \u201cimmediately\u201d would happen after the Northern Tour, to minimise disruption to the Ferns camp.<\/p>\n
After losing the first two tests against Australia by 17 goals, clearly affected by mental fatigue, the Silver Ferns completely turned the tables, winning 61-52, to keep the Constellation Cup alive. They won again on Wednesday night in the final test in Christchurch, Foster\u2019s hometown, defeating the Australians by 62-57 to level the series 2-2.<\/p>\n
The two sides played a tense extra-time series decider, which the Diamonds won 12-11. <\/p>\n
Does Foster think the Ferns\u2019 turnaround was influenced by the Taurua news? \u201cYes,\u201d she says. \u201cAs these players need to prove themselves, they played with plenty of heart.\u201d<\/p>\n
Like she\u2019s done throughout the coaching saga, Foster has talked to her social media followers about the latest update.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s kind of therapeutic,\u201d she says of the chats she shares online. \u201cBut it\u2019s one of the ways I can show support for someone who doesn\u2019t deserve to be going through this.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foster and Taurua have been good friends for more than 30 years \u2013 the friendship starting when they both wore the Silver Fern in 1994 \u2013 but the proud Cantabrian says it\u2019s not just those bonds that have fuelled her disbelief at what unfolded from September 10.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be just as vocal for anyone else that I had the utmost respect for \u2013 I\u2019d be going in to bat for anyone because I don\u2019t like seeing something so unjust,\u201d she says. \u201cThe dots just haven\u2019t connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
Netball remains an area of her life she\u2019s truly passionate about \u2013 something that started 40 years ago in Canterbury colours as a player and saw her go on to coach some of the country\u2019s best netballers.<\/p>\n
Margie Foster with two of her Motivationz Netball coaches. Photo \/ Supplied<\/p>\n
Foster hasn\u2019t slowed a beat since stepping away from coaching on the domestic scene and her passion for sport is as strong as ever since starting the Motivationz Academy with her husband, Anthony, in 2008.<\/p>\n
\u201cMotivationz was born through me coming back from Invercargill having been beaten by the [Southern] Steel and I moaned to my husband that our fundamental skills let us down,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnthony owned a swim school at the time and said to me: \u2018Why don\u2019t you open a netball school like my swim school and teach them the basics earlier?\u2019 And away we went.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foster is incredibly proud of what she sees happening with the youth in their region.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Motivationz is our biggest achievement,\u201d she says. \u201cThis came about through helping young people learning the basic skills of netball and to learn to swim. From that evolved our informal mentoring of our mates\u2019 families and friends and acquaintances.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now they work closely with the Government to support young people into employment, education or training on a weekly basis.<\/p>\n
Foster says mentoring young people doesn\u2019t really feel like work and the reward is seeing them achieve.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everyone that comes through our doors is very sporty, but sport is still our common thread, and we\u2019ve certainly seen the impact that sport can have on young people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
That success prompted Foster to branch out even further, as she and fellow business partner Chris Koraka founded Inspire Me Women \u2013 a community for women that focuses on connection, professional and personal growth, and inspiring participants through events and workshops.<\/p>\n
Starting in 2018, the duo wanted to create a supportive network for women to connect, share knowledge and be inspired.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe charitable work we do on this space as well as lift women up to be the best versions of themselves is once again super-rewarding,\u201d Foster says.<\/p>\n
Having worked alongside mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka during her netball career, Foster liked what he brought to the table with sports teams and wanted to share that with women in particular.<\/p>\n
\u201cI am a big fan of Gilbert Enoka as he was my very first sports psychologist and mental skills trainer and I wanted to be like Berty in my latter years. I loved how he went into sports teams and created the culture.\u201d<\/p>\n
Foster could see that effect happening with Inspire Me Women, and she\u2019s helped organise events like Pinkalicious for breast cancer \u2013 something close to her heart after starting that journey in 2006 with her own breast cancer diagnosis \u2013 along with workshops for w\u0101hine featuring female presenters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe love to see others do well. It\u2019s a real buzz and honour to be able to inspire at any level,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a common thread woven throughout Foster\u2019s life \u2013 firstly as a primary school teacher at local Aranui school, St James, to her netball coaching career, guiding teams including the Canterbury Flames, and assisting with both the Waikato-BOP Magic and Southern Steel, as well as being called in as a specialist coach with the Silver Ferns.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been about helping others to achieve their best.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always wanted to be a teacher growing up and I remember having all the children round the neighbourhood coming to my house and we\u2019d be learning the alphabet or whatever and I\u2019d be giving them a star and a tick,\u201d she says with a laugh.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt a really young age I just had this thing about being a teacher and so it just felt natural to go into coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven as a player, I felt like I was going to be a better coach than I was as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n
Not that Foster was a slouch on the netball court. A feisty athlete, she combined her natural speed and ball distribution to ensure she made an impact through the midcourt for whichever team she stepped out for \u2013 her Hearts club in Christchurch, Canterbury, the Flames or for her country, making her debut in black in Dunedin against Trinidad and Tobago in 1992.<\/p>\n
But with her passion for the game and drive to see others succeed, she found her sweet spot on the sidelines as a coach.<\/p>\n
When Canterbury Flames coach Leigh Gibbs left for a high-performance role in Wales in 2000, Foster successfully applied for the coaching role of the Flames and from 2002-07 she was part of one of the most entertaining domestic rivalries, with Robyn Broughton\u2019s Sting.<\/p>\n
The two teams met three times in the domestic league\u2019s grand final under Foster\u2019s eye, and while they didn\u2019t come away with the spoils, it was a period the coach enjoyed immensely.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I took over it was just a 24\/7 job for me. I wasn\u2019t paid but the amount of effort and energy that I put into that team, it was just a passion to see these players do well,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Foster admits she\u2019d be remembered for being a \u201cpretty hard-arse\u201d coach but says her guidance always came from a place of love.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhy else would you do this job? It really is about getting the best out of a group of individuals and bringing them together to get the best out of them as a team. I\u2019ve wanted to empower others to go forward and succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
She\u2019s also coached New Zealand A, the New Zealand Men, and taken her skills abroad with stints as head coach of the Cook Islands and Loughborough Lightning in the UK.<\/p>\n
As a player, a coach and now as a mentor, it\u2019s always been about the people.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing is he t\u0101ngata, he t\u0101ngata, he t\u0101ngata \u2013 it\u2019s all about the people, and the connections made,\u201d Foster says. \u201cTo support people to be their best or working towards being a little bit better than the day before.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s possibly what\u2019s irked Foster most during the Silver Ferns coaching saga \u2013 knowing well what drives Taurua.<\/p>\n
\u201cNoels is about people. She\u2019s about getting the best out of them,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Foster \u2013 made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the 2009 Queen\u2019s Birthday Honours for services to netball \u2013 gained good insight into Taurua\u2019s coaching methods when she was her assistant coach with the Magic in 2011.<\/p>\n
What sticks with her most is Taurua\u2019s ability to connect with players and her care for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer biggest thing is communication and connection. But she was also really visionary and so creative,\u201d Foster says.<\/p>\n
\u201cComing from a teaching background, I was a coach who had to plan everything, and have it written down, but she\u2019d look at that and say, \u2018Put that down because you\u2019ve got to get a feel of the players and a feel for where they\u2019re at\u2019. We connected really well as people, but she was also incredible for my coaching.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019d be my dream coach to have if I was playing still and I think we should be doing everything we can to hold on to her.\u201d<\/p>\n