KEY POINTS:
Former Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering is this weekend taking on the biggest challenge of her 22-year coaching career - and it doesn't involve international netball.
Willering will be in charge of one of the Counties Manukau korfball teams competing at the national provincial championships at Trusts Stadium in Henderson.
Korfball? It's not one of the better-known New Zealand sports - many people have never heard of it, and until three months ago, Willering didn't have much of an idea of what it involved.
The game originated in Holland and is played by teams of eight - four men and four women.
It is superficially similar to basketball and netball, but can also be described as a ball game somewhere between chess and ballet - the strategic demands of chess combined with the physical precision of ballet.
Despite being of Dutch heritage, Willering has never played korfball and became involved in the sport only when invited by the Counties Manukau association.
After going to a couple of training sessions, Willering saw the potential for introducing netball skills and tactics to the game.
"I looked at it and thought we could add a netball component to korfball and sort of play it our way I suppose. There are a lot of skills on attack and defence that we use in netball that can translate to korfball."
With a wide network of netballers at her disposal, Willering has roped in several high-profile players to compete in this weekend's tournament under the banner of Counties Manukau.
Silver Ferns defender Leana de Bruin and her husband Quinton will play in the team, with Netball North's Vilimaina Davu, Finau Pulu and Ritua Petero.
Because the entire squad, including the men, comes from a netball background, they have had to take a crash course in korfball rules and tactics. And Willering expects her side will continue to pick things up during the tournament.
"We have been training together and we've had some games, but every time we go out on the court we keep getting told, 'No, you can't do that, no you can't do this'. So we're learning as we go."
Because the side are all newcomers to the sport, they are nervous about how they will be received by other teams in the tournament.
"We're coming up against teams that have played the game for quite a while, and I'm sure they'll be out to prove what genuine korfball play is all about," said Willering. "I just hope they don't see us as a threat."
Counties Manukau have a second team entered in the championships, and Willering said her side were not there at the expense of anyone else.
Willering and her charges will face stiff competition from Canterbury and Auckland, who have swapped ownership of the national korfball title over the past two tournaments this year.
What: Korfball National Provincial Championships.
Where: Trusts Stadium, Henderson.
When: Today, tomorrow.
WHAT IS KORFBALL?
* The object of the game is to elude the opponent and shoot the ball through a korf (Dutch word for basket) on top of a 3.5m pole.
* It is strictly non-contact - no running with or bouncing the ball.
* The pole is set in from the end of the court enabling shots from 360deg.
* After two goals, defenders and attackers switch roles.
