Pulse
The ANZ Premiership is netball’s pinnacle domestic competition in New Zealand. It is the premier professional, domestic competition for women in this country, and is the vehicle by which netball remains the most played female sport in the country.
The Pulse programme is led and implemented by NCZ and is strongly aligned to NNZ’s performance programme. The alignment of Pulse and NNZ protocols is critical in ensuring a ‘one athlete-one plan’ approach that enhances and supports individual athlete development.
The Pulse programme begins in September and the ANZ Premiership runs from April to August. Each ANZ Premiership team comprises 10 contracted athletes and an allowance of training partners. All Pulse contracted athletes are committed to a professional netball environment from September to August and they are expected to reside in Wellington for the duration of the competition season.
Selection of contracted Pulse athletes takes into consideration appropriate skill, positional roles, mindset, experience and commitment to the Pulse performance culture and expectations. Being a Pulse athlete requires strong role modelling, an element of service to our game and community and a genuine commitment to self- responsibility for the betterment of performance outcomes. Training partners are contracted for varied periods (pre and in season) and are expected to commit to all team conditioning, netball, recovery and review sessions as directed by the Head Coach. Training partners are an option for inclusion into a Pulse team roster at any given time.
Each athlete completes an induction process, which includes physical screenings along with life management skills, and has an individual performance plan (IPP), which reflects her broad spectrum of on and off court needs. We use this plan to assist the athlete to enhance both her life and netball performances. Standards are measured and monitored against NNZ national performance guidelines and protocols whilst striving to achieve world class leading results.
Following inductions, all athletes are engaged in off-season training programmes with regular monitoring to ensure they enter the season in the best physical condition to perform. Seasonal plans are developed to reflect the demands of professional netballers and as such conditioning and netball practices occur daily relative to the competition schedule. One ‘athlete day off’ per working week is included in the schedule along with recovery, analysis, IPP reviews and specialist sessions to ensure a performance culture and environment is sustained.
We contract with NNZ to provide athlete services in nutrition, athlete life, conditioning, mental skills and physiotherapy. Similarly, NCZ contracts independent providers for analysis and medical services. The NZNPA (NZ Athletes Association) are engaged by NNZ to ensure athlete contracts and conditions align to professional work standards and expectations.
Currently the Pulse team has a core of young but experienced athletes. We have been focused on building a new foundation to take us through the next four year pinnacle cycle. The legacy of success and excellence that has been established inspires us to lift our performance standards to dominate the ANZ competition and be a world class leading club.