Wanderers Netball Club rebuilding for new season

Competitiveness is an ingredient not to be taken lightly in sport competitions; thus, Wanderers Netball Club is now fully focused on rebuilding the once-powerful outfit.

Speaking to Desert FM recently, Wanderers Netball Club chairperson Lizl Stoman said as time goes by, one becomes more aware of the departure of some key players.

“I think 2025 was a year of lessons and learning for us – definitely just realising that as time goes by, some of your senior players leave, and they start pursuing other things in life. Then you have to rebuild with your new players. That is why development is so important in sport,” said Stoman.

“As a club that is definitely one of our key points going forward. Last year, when our first team was in the premier league, we struggled a little bit.”

Stoman said in 2024 they had a much stronger team in a very competitive netball season, and that in 2025 the team had a few ups and downs.

“Especially with player availability, we are definitely in a space where we are developing now. We are building a strong and motivated team. And certainly looking forward to the 2026 netball season,” she said.

The Wanderers chairperson said the club has kicked off pre-season training and that practices are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 18h00.

“We have already had good attendance with some bright-eyed young players that want to play netball,” she said.

“Yes, we are looking forward to the new netball season, and we are going to rebuild on our tradition and keep on going stronger.”

She added: “In terms of where we are as a sport code, we are probably not as strong as football and rugby yet, but we are definitely getting there.”

SCHOOL SPORTS

Stoman said school sport struggles, and that parents are already under pressure from school fees and uniforms, while all sport codes are expensive.

She said the biggest issue is getting money and developing the sport codes to be competitive at school level.

“Strong schools are playing against each other and they don’t always get the exposure needed. It limits the development of the children in our teams.”

School sports serve as feeders for outside sport clubs like netball, football and rugby.

“With the introduction of the MTC Netball Premier League, Netball Namibia did great in getting a sponsor,” Stoman said.

She said with Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTC) on board, the league games were impressive, with strong turnout and engagement, including viewership on the Facebook livestream, which Stoman described as “insane”.

“To see how many people comment and cheer for their clubs, it brings excitement and fits into our national league. I definitely think that it has upped the game of netball quite a bit,” she said.

COACHING CLINIC

The annual Wanderers Netball Club coaching clinic is scheduled for Saturday at the WAP Back Courts.

The popular coaching clinic, running for the third year and officially sponsored by Africa Personnel Services (APS), will cater to children aged eight to 12 years.

“It’s all about bringing the fun back to netball, and reminding players why netball is such a fun sport. . . We feel like giving back. I want to thank APS because they are our main sponsor,” she added.

The coaching clinic will have lucky draws for the children, and registration, at N$200, will remain open until Saturday morning at 09h00.

“We are so thankful to the parents supporting the coaching clinic. The children will walk away with some kind of skill,” said Stoman.

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