The World Korfball Championships 2015 have come and gone and it was a blast! Our hope was to finish in the Top 8 with the guaranteed prize of going to the World Games. As it turned out, we were Golden Goal away from 9th or 10th but ended up clear winners of 11th position. This ensured we qualified for the World Games. I think this team can be proud of the manner in which they represented their sport, and their country.

We can most certainly walk away from this WKC with our heads held high. We received great praise from Officials, Coaches and even the players that we played against, no matter if we won or lost. Our “new” game style certainly had a lot of people looking our way and hopefully there will be more assistance to come.

Not beating Russia, and being placed in the bottom half of the pool, certainly would have tested many teams resolve. Being in this pool meant we were unable to rotate all players through games. This did not concern those who were unable to see a lot of court time, and as a team we were able to qualify for the World Games. I was proud that those players affected were not concerned for themselves, but were there to support our Country’s best attempt to qualify for the World Games.

Where to from here I hear you asking? It is my belief that this team can be the core group of great things to come. Not more than 5 months ago, we introduced a new playing style and have now experienced what this can do. With some U/23 players to join the ranks, I believe this squad will be able to compete strongly for the next 4 years. Our challenge for this squad is to make sure that they can stay together financially.

In the long term, there is no doubt that we need to grow our numbers across the country and I believe that Universities, and to a lesser degree, High Schools need to be our target.

Stay tuned for “The Coaches Dream” in the next few days.