Sport
Congupna appoints experienced mentor Jodie Fleming to take its A-grade to the next level
Congupna is set to usher in a new era on the netball court in 2023, calling upon experienced mentor Jodie Fleming to mentor its A-grade unit.
Having played, coached and umpired netball in the region and abroad for more than three decades, Fleming comes to The Road with a wealth of valuable experience as they look to establish themselves as a powerhouse of Murray Netball League.
A team filled with young talent, Congupna was competitive in its efforts throughout the 2022 season, winning six games to finish eighth on the ladder under the tutelage of playing coach Ash Warren.
The club thought the best path forward was to appoint a non-playing coach to purely focus on its A-grade side, a position which fitted Fleming to a tee after she experienced great success across an eight-year span with Kyabram District League club Dookie United.
Set to return to the coaching ranks after a brief one-year break, which she spent umpiring matches across the region, Fleming explained why the role at Congupna appealed to her.
“I came from Dookie after being there for eight years and had a lot of success there building the club’s netball program from the bottom up really,” Fleming said.
“Congupna approached me and asked if I would be interested and after having a bit of a chat I really liked the culture and philosophy of the club and how they go about things.
“They really just aligned with my values and, still having a bit of an itch to scratch in terms of coaching, I thought this was a perfect opportunity.”
Despite having not been directly involved with Congupna’s netball program before, Fleming is no stranger to The Road’s exploits on the court, having umpired a handful of their matches last season.
She gave her thoughts on the promising young squad and how she believed they could improve.
“I think they just need someone who is quite strategic and somebody who can just focus on improving their skills and ability as a team to come together and win games of netball,” she said.
“The people who coached over the past couple of years did a wonderful job, but they just had too much on their plate being playing coaches, so I think having somebody there just focusing on coaching the A-grade side will be very beneficial.
“They (the club) can see the potential of their players is there, they just need to be taken to the next level and that’s what I’m there to do.”
As for her expectations for the upcoming campaign Fleming said she had one major goal in mind.
“Making the finals is the number one priority, I won’t take anything less than that and we’ll try very hard to make that happen,” she said.
“Pre-season will be all about getting very fit and very tough, the girls can expect me to give fairness, honesty and a lot of tough love.
“But I just want to give the girls a lot of new skills and new ways to do things on the court.”