Norma Plummer calls time on Diamonds coaching career

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Australian Diamonds coach Norma Plummer has withdrawn her application for reappointment after it was confirmed last night that the restructured position meant it would not be feasible for anyone to hold both ANZ Championship and national coaching positions.

Plummer said she was comfortable with the Board’s decision and looking forward to the challenge of a full time coaching role in Western Australia, where she says she will relish the day to day, hands-on aspect of the job.

“I’m on record as saying that I have been champing at the bit to get more hands-on with a group of players again,” Plummer said today.

“The day to day coaching is what I love and my role at West Coast Fever will give me that.

“I have had a fantastic eight years as Diamonds coach and the highlights of two World Championships will be hard to beat.”

Plummer said she was excited about the future in her role as head coach of West Coast Fever.

“I believe I can still make a major contribution to netball and I look forward to working with Netball WA to set up structures over there to mentor and develop not just the current players but to produce world class players and coaches in the future.”

Netball Australia President Noeleen Dix said that Plummer would leave the national program on the highest possible note.

“Norma Plummer is an international coaching icon.  She has just delivered Australia back-to-back World titles in spectacular fashion in Singapore, taking the Diamonds’ formidable World Championship record to 10 out of a possible 13 titles,” Dix said.

“A supreme tactician, passionate and committed to Australian netball, Norma also leaves a magnificent legacy after guiding the international careers of so many of Australia's best players.”

Dix said that the role of national coach will now have its first real restructure since Plummer took on the position in 2003. 

The appointee will be responsible for leading the technical direction of Australian netball, bringing together the wide range of high performance programs that netball runs nationally and working with coaches across Australia, including the Australian Institute of Sport, the State Institutes of Sport and Academies, and the ANZ Championship.

Netball Australia is expecting to appoint a new national coach in the coming weeks.