Coaches are the backbone of netball in Queensland and are an essential part of providing a positive, inclusive, and safe sporting environment for participants. Whether you are coaching for the very first time or are coaching in our High Performance environment, Netball Queensland thanks you for the service you provide our sport.
Netball Queensland is committed to supporting all our coaches, no matter their experience level, to develop and enhance their skills by providing access to Netball Australia’s accreditation pathway, as well as to non-accredited courses, workshops, and other professional development opportunities.
If you’re not sure where to start or need further information, please contact coachandofficials@netballq.org.au
Your Coaching Pathway
At Netball Queensland, we believe that coaching is sometimes more of a continuous learning journey rather than a linear pathway. While some coaches might enjoy completing the formal, accredited learning from Netball Australia to continually upgrade their qualifications, others might prefer to reach a particular qualification and then increase their knowledge through informal learning opportunities instead. Both coaching pathways are valid as they allow coaches to continually improve, and neither pathway option is better than the other.
In our Coaching Pathway graphic, you can see the 6-tier accreditation pathway from Netball Australia, as well as the general guidelines for the competition level that accreditation prepares coaches for as it relates to netball in Queensland. The pathway on the right-hand side highlights a few of the many other learning and education opportunities coaches might undertake to improve their abilities, gain new skills and knowledge, and grow as well-rounded coaches.
The continuous learning journey is designed to highlight that there can be ‘high-performing’ and expert coaches at any accreditation level. For example, a coach who has completed their Development Coach Accreditation, coached club netball for many years, and is committed to their own learning and development through informal opportunities might be more equipped to coach a club netball team than someone who has completed their Elite Coach Accreditation and does less informal learning and development. A coach who has completed their Foundation Coach Accreditation, has 10 years’ experience coaching Woolworths NetSetGO!, and has a background in early childhood education might be considered an expert Woolworths NetSetGO! coach. Just because their accreditation level is at the beginning of the accredited learning pathway does not mean they lack experience or skill.
This does not mean there is no value in the accreditation pathway. Coaches who are looking to coach elite and professional netball will need to progress through the accreditation pathway in order to gain the skills and experience necessary to coach high performance athletes; however, for coaches who have reached the accreditation level recommended for the competition and athletes they’re coaching, there is plenty of informal learning opportunities they can engage in to improve their skills without increasing their accreditation.
Learning and development as coaches is a process that is never-ending – there is no peak where once reached, coaches have learned everything there is to know. Regardless of where they sit on the accreditation pathway, there is always room for more learning and development as coaches travel through the continuous learning journey pathway.