NSWIS thanks Wright for impact on netball

Head Coach of the NSW Swifts, Rob Wright, will step down next month after three years at the helm and seven years at the netball club.

Wright worked closely with the NSW Institute of Sport during his time with the Swifts, and before that as an NSWIS regional coach.

Wright joined the Swifts as Assistant Coach in the 2010 season and went on to serve as Head Coach from seasons 2014-2017.

He has stepped down on personal grounds and has expressed his thanks to both the club and Netball NSW as he looks to take his career in a different direction.

“First and foremost I would like to thank everyone at the NSW Swifts and the Board of Netball NSW for giving me the opportunity to coach such a fantastic Club and be part of a wonderful journey these past eight years,” Wright said.

“This has not been an easy decision to make but I feel now is the right time for me to take some time out and I will continue to focus on individual athlete coaching and development.

Wright has been instrumental in helping the development of a number of talented netballers from the NSW Institute of Sport and Acting CEO for NSWIS, Clare Prideaux, thanked him for his work.

“Rob has done a terrific job with the Swifts and his hard work, expertise and passion has been invaluable in the development of some fantastic netballers.

“We wish him all the best in the future.”

Netball NSW CEO Carolyn Campbell said the organisation was sad to be losing Wright’s services but wished him the best of luck with his future endeavours.

“Rob has been a wonderful servant of not just the Swifts, but all of netball in NSW however we understand and respect his decision,” she said.

“Rob brought success to NSW at underage level at National Netball Championships and at Australian Netball League level with the Netball NSW Waratahs so he is a huge part of the sporting DNA of this great state.”

In his time as Swifts Head Coach Wright oversaw 61 elite matches across the former Trans-Tasman Netball League and Suncorp Super Netball; winning 34, losing 22 and drawing five for a win percentage of 56%.

After becoming the first male to coach in the Trans-Tasman League, Wright led the Swifts to the Finals Series in 2014 – their first playoffs appearance since 2011 – and went on to lead the Club to back-to-back Grand Finals in 2015-2016.

Netball NSW has commenced a process to appoint a Head Coach to continue the 2020 vision for the NSW Swifts, and will make an announcement on this shortly.