Theresa van der Westhuizen: TransNamib to Stellenbosch netball star

Theresa van der Westhuizen (formerly Nel) has come a long way from playing netball in Grade 1 at Suiderhof Primary School to being crowned best young star at Stellenbosch University’s netball club, Stelkol, where she studied.

Van der Westhuizen says her time playing netball in Stellenbosch, South Africa – where she was coached by Annie Klopper alongside several junior Springbok players – was the catalyst for her own netball career.

“I grew up next to the netball court. My mom, Corrie Nel, played netball and she started coaching at a later stage. . . I played for the A teams of all my age groups at Suiderhof Primary School,” Van der Westhuizen says.

“I continued the same trend when I attended Windhoek High School (WHS). But I only played for the A teams of the age groups until Standard 8 where I was selected for the school’s first team. I started playing for the Talpark netball club, which was later renamed TransNamib, while still at high school.”

The retired centre joined United after returning from her studies in South Africa

Van der Westhuizen, who wants to be remembered as a team player and someone who always gave her all on the netball court, adds that her switch to United was prompted by her mother moving to Mariental after her father’s death.

She was a courageous and competitive player who never looked back from the day she joined WHS’s first team. WHS was a traditional netball powerhouse in the Khomas region, dominating school competitions.

She says playing for such an accomplished team was a pleasure, and they were the team to beat in the central regional league, winning the school league from 1992 to 1994.

“While at school I played for the Namibian schools’ team that participated in tournaments in South Africa, especially in Cape Town and Clanwilliam. I have very fond memories of the Rooibos Tea Tournament. It was really exciting competing against the best of South Africa,” she recalls.

“During my last year of school, the central team was selected, and I think that I conducted myself well enough to win a place on the team. We went to play in Clanwilliam, as well as at the SA Netball Championships in Bloemfontein, where we also played against a New Zealand under-21 team.”

She says playing their New Zealand counterparts was a real eye-opener for them.

Van der Westhuizen adds that she would never forget retired stars Joan Smit’s and Annie Mosiane-Kalomo’s words when they played their first international, saying: 

“All that you see on court was black, black, black, red, black, black, black, red, because the New Zealanders were fast, strong, and tall. That was our take-home from that game, but we never stopped playing as a team.”

She says she was fortunate to be selected for a Khomas regional team in 2010 that travelled to Scotland, where they played against Scotland, Wales and other smaller clubs.

“We learned a lot and it is so sad that the netball team did not get the opportunity to do more international tours or games in my time,” she adds.

“I played for the senior netball team at two All-African Games. One was in Botswana and we hosted the other at Swakopmund. I also played with the senior central team at that time, just after school, and I am honoured to have played with some of the biggest names in Namibian netball.”

The former WHS pupil found herself in the company of the late Ndemu Hipondoka, Juanita du Plessis, Salome Davin, Annie Mosiane, Ouvrou Oliphant, Moeder Gontes, Mildred Ollivier and Hildegard Dengler, who are widely considered the golden generation of Namibian netball.

Van der Westhuizen says she was fortunate to have the parents she did, as well as exceptional coaches like Joan and Nico Smit who taught her the methodology of netball. She also played with Eve and Julene Meyer, who is currently a coach and assisting the national team.

The former centre, who was part of the Namibian team that defeated Malaysia 47-21 in Windhoek, laments that Namibian netball was on a downward spiral at the time, exacerbated by a lack of international competition.

The former United star, who says she built her playing style on speed, tactics, skill and technique, notes that she used her height to her advantage.Beyond netball, Van der Westhuizen was a versatile athlete, competing in athletics under Quinton-Steel Botes and taking part in amateur cycling. She believes running half marathons helped build her endurance for netball.

Although javelin was her main event, the all-around athlete also competed in the long jump and high jump.The married mother of three is currently employed by Cospharm, a leading pharmaceutical organisation in southern Africa. 

Van der Westhuizen describes herself as an early riser.

“A normal day for me starts at 04h40 in the morning,” she says. “I have a run or spinning class, then it’s off to work at 08h00 and my day lasts until 17h00. I have to sort out my daughter’s sport and school activities during the day as well. Some days I even go to play a game of squash after work.”She adds that when she’s not playing squash, she goes for a run with her family and friends.

She adds that time management is what keeps her going.

“It has always been my life’s philosophy to have enough funds to support my child to compete on national and international level,” she says, adding that her son is a formidable cyclist.

The retired star says she is happy with how her life and sporting career panned out. She adds that she still sees some of her former teammates at school games and on the netball courts, especially because her daughter has decided to follow in her footsteps and play for United.

Van der Westhuizen, who says she is involved in the golden oldie games, gave back to the community by coaching both the United and WHS first teams for a season in 2018, and she was in charge of the Windhoek Afrikaans Private School team.

The former Suiderhof Primary School pupil says what she misses most are the team get-togethers and netball tours to the Holiday Inn tournaments in South Africa, from her days playing at school, club and national level.

Van der Westhuizen advises young athletes: “Life does not stop when you have children. Make time for yourself. Try playing different sport codes because you never know where you can end up. You will definitely end up excelling in one.”

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