KEY POINTS:
The Northern Mystics are denying any suggestion player power is behind the shock axing of former Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering.
The Auckland franchise yesterday announced they were looking for a new coach after sacking Willering just one year into her three-year contract after the Mystics finished a disappointing seventh in their inaugural transtasman season.
Willering, who was told of the board's decision last Wednesday, said yesterday the news came as a huge blow and believed feedback from the players could be behind the move.
"The players did have an input because they all had evaluations done," she said.
"I'm disappointed how much of that influence is there because really I had reviews with the players all the way through the season and they had the ability to have input all the time but there were never any concerns at that stage.
"If that was the case then I guess there wasn't a lot of honesty there."
But Mystics' chief executive Mark Cameron denied the players contributed to Willering's demise.
The Mystics' inaugural ANZ Championship season has been plagued with controversy.
After a poor start to the season, in which they lost their first four games, they were labelled unfit and ill-prepared for the tough, competitive new league. There were also rumours of player disharmony and a rift between Willering and her assistant coach Te Aroha Keenan. Willering has revealed she offered her resignation mid-way through the season, but was given the backing of the board.
So what has changed?
Cameron has been vague why Willering is now unwanted, only saying it was based on an extensive review of the franchise.
"There were a number of factors but I don't want to go into the whys and the why nots of this," Cameron said. "We want to show Yvonne a level of respect, she's a great coach and the commitment and the passion that she put into the Mystics this year and to netball overall is huge."
But possibly the biggest clue is given in a statement released by the Mystics yesterday, which made reference to wanting to move forward "in this increasingly professional era".
With over 20 years of top-level coaching experience, Willering is viewed as being of the old-school when it comes to her philosophies.
There was perhaps the feeling among the Mystics' management that Willering did not fully grasp what it takes to succeed in a professional era. With the fitness and conditioning of the Mystics coming under the spotlight earlier in the year, critics argued Willering did not place enough importance on the sports science aspect of the job.
The Mystics are now looking for an all-new coaching staff.
Cameron said he had not approached any prospective coaches, but one possible candidate could be former Ferns coach Lyn Gunson, who recently returned from the UK to take up a development role with Netball North Harbour.
