UJ’s Angelique Molefe believes that should they have peaked earlier in the Varsity Netball competition, they would have fulfilled their goal of finishing in the top four of the competition and play in the semi-finals for the first time in the competition.
However, Lee-Ann Smal’s charges finished on a high, beating UCT in their last match of the season. Molefe is happy that they had a great season, which saw them overcome Kovsies and got the whole competition talking.
“That helped a lot, everyone is more positive now,” said Molefe. “We believe that had we been at this point earlier in the tournament we could have easily ended up in the finals. Our goal this year was to end up in fourth, at least, but that didn’t go as we wanted it to. Once we established that we can’t go above what we wanted to do, the aim was to better ourselves and end it off on a high, so that next year when we come back, we touch up on a few things,” she said.
Molefe said focusing on their failures in the past seasons, could have contributed in their results which were not always good.
“This year we focused more on the positives than the negatives. So when we went on court, it wasn’t with a lot of baggage from the past, whereas in the past we used to just focus on what we were doing wrong and the team morale was down. Now, everyone’s spirits are up and it is working,” she said.
Molefe added that the team has been gelling much better than they were last season. She said the players understand Smal’s coaching and know each others’ strengths better.
“She came in and didn’t know us as well as she does now. I think the true reflection of her work is only starting to show now. We have grown with her as individuals and as a team. I don’t think she did much differently, it’s just that we have more of an understanding in terms of what she wants from us,” she added.
By Busisiwe Mokwena, Daily Sun/ Sunday Sun Sports Reporter
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