Jenny van Dyk named new Proteas netball coach

• Netball South Africa unveiled that Jenny van Dyk will be the Proteas new coach.
• Van Dyk replaces Australian Norma Plummer, who stepped down in December.
• Van Dyk is the most successful coach in the Telkom Netball League, having taken the Jaguars to five consecutive titles.
• For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page.

Netball South Africa on Wednesday unveiled Jenny van Dyk as the new national coach of the Proteas.

Van Dyk replaces Australian Norma Plummer, who stepped down from her role in December. Plummer had taken the Proteas to a sixth-place finish at last year's Netball World Cup hosted in Cape Town.

After a meticulous process of reviewing applications and conducting rounds of interviews, Netball South Africa signed Van Dyk on a four-year contract.

This will see Van Dyk take the SA women to the 2027 Netball World Cup in Australia.

Van Dyk will be assisted by former South African coach and current Maties mentor Zanele Mdodana.

"It is a fantastic feeling and quite an honour to be bestowed the responsibility to lead the national team. I have waited so long to don this green blazer," Van Dyk said in a press statement.

"I am also happy to be joined by Zanele, she has something that sets her soul on fire, and I believe that we will be a formidable team. As a coach for the Proteas, my objective is to continue from where my predecessor left off, we need to build a winning team - to follow a proudly South African culture of netball.

"We need to get into the culture of winning and having a netball identity. I believe that we are equal to the task and start competing and winning."

Van Dyk has been hailed as one of the most successful coaches in the domestic Telkom Netball League, taking the Jaguars to five consecutive TNL titles.

The highly-rated Van Dyk also led the University of Pretoria netball team to a few finals and titles in the Varsity Cup. Prior to her appointment, she was with the under-21 team, who are scheduled to play in the Netball World Youth Cup 2025 Qualifiers in March.

"With a few of our senior players retiring, we are starting anew, and we need a coach who will build with us. As a federation, we are confident that we have found the right person to help us do exactly that," said Netball South Africa president, Cecilia Molokwane.

"As a federation, we have full confidence in who we have chosen as our head coach, and we are certain that the team will take us to new heights and compete."

Van Dyk's first assignment is to assemble a group of 30 players and finalise the team for a training camp, which is expected to be announced soon.