New Fever coach close
The new West Coast Fever coach should be known by the end of next week with the club settling on a short list of candidates.
Netball WA chief executive Simon Taylor was due to finalise a list of three to four candidates yesterday.
Interviews will start immediately with follow up interviews on a likely top two to be held before the replacement for Norma Plummer is appointed.
But the announcement on the new coach could be delayed until after the ANZ Championship grand final next weekend if the candidate is still involved.
Plummer's assistant, Stacey Rosman, is among those short listed for the job.
"We have been very comfort- able with the quality of the applicants and, as a result, the process of short listing is taking its time because we've got a lot to go through to make sure we're identifying the right talent," Taylor said.
Taylor denied the wait for an announcement would leave the Fever behind the eight-ball in player recruitment.
The Fever already have lost one of their marquee 2014 recruits, Chelsea Pitman.
Six other players are out of contract, including bookends Caitlin Bassett and Eboni Beckford-Chambers.
Taylor stopped short of saying Bassett, a home-grown Australian Diamond, was the No.1 signing priority.
"Caitlin's been at the club for 10 years and we would like to see her stay as a one-club member," Taylor said.
"But there are a lot of factors these days that determine an athlete's security in a club.
"I don't think you can ever be totally confident until we have finalised the head coach position and she's had the opportunity to view that.
"We put out offers and then her management will make a final determination on where they want to be in the future."
Beckford-Chambers is keen to test the market when other teams can approach her after the grand final.
·Bassett was excited when she got an email from Princess Margaret Hospital to say her private netball clinic had sold in the charity auction.
But when she found out it was West Coast Eagles great Glen Jakovich who had bought it, she was even happier.
Jakovich bid on it for his two netball-mad daughters, Anique, 13, and Jayda, 10.
And tomorrow, Jakovich's daughters and a few of their lucky friends will get to enjoy some exclusive tips from an international star in their own 90-minute training session.
