Lees was announced as the assistant coach of the state 19-and-under side, entering the high-performance programs after two years as a specialist coach at the Victorian Institute of Sport.
She will support the 19-and-under head coach, Adrian Ballantyne, who served as the team’s assistant last year and the 17-and-under assistant the year prior.
The National Netball Championships is the nation’s largest high-performance pathway event, providing an opportunity for developing athletes, coaches, umpires and officials from each state and territory to compete across six days.
The event has produced some of the best talent in Australian netball, including an array of past and present Melbourne Vixens and Australian Diamonds.
Shepparton Bears stalwart Jacinta Todd, who has been involved in the state team system for several years, was named head coach of the 17-and-under side.
Lees was thrilled to be joining the Victorian state team coaching staff and emphasised the importance of learning and taking opportunities to bolster our local community’s netball.
“I have been in the program previously, and the last couple of years, I have done some specialist coaching at VIS,” she said.
“The opportunity opened itself up, and I thought, why not get involved? It is really important that I continue to learn and develop as a coach so that I have something to offer our local community.
“It’s about coming up with new and innovative ways of doing things, and there is only one way of doing that: to expose yourself to different opportunities and different coaches and continuing to learn.”
Lees also highlighted her excitement about beginning the selection process and training for the national championships in April.
“The nationals are always in the first week of the school holidays in April next year, so we go through the selection process this year,” she said.
“We will be training as a squad from January to April.
“I can’t wait to be involved in the program, and I am really looking forward to it.”
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