The Silver Ferns with the Netball World Cup during a World Cup celebration at Parliament, August 2019, Stephen Hotter (back right). Photo: Marty Melville
Netball New Zealand's soon to be new head of high performance can't wait to resume his association with a sport that's already been a big part of his life.
Stephen Hotter was appointed earlier this month, and comes in at a crucial time with the World Cup in South Africa just four months away.
Hotter remembers watching netball on the TV with his Mum when he was a little kid.
"And it's just been ingrained I suppose in my consciousness. It's the number one women's sport in the country and it has been for a long period of time and I think it's just a part of the fabric of New Zealand," Hotter said.
Hotter will officially start the role at the end of this month, taking over from Keir Hansen, who had the role since 2016.
Hotter, who has been working as a team leader at High Performance Sport New Zealand (HPSNZ), has already had 12 years experience working with elite netballers.
He was the strength and conditioning coach for the Wellington based Pulse from 2008-2011. Prior to that he worked with the Wellington Rugby Union.
And he's not new to the Silver Ferns' environment having worked as lead strength and conditioning coach for eight years between 2012 and 2020.
"I loved my time in netball and I feel like that history in netball has given me a good understanding of how the system works and I built some good relationships throughout the country over a long period of time so really excited to be back at such an important time too," Hotter said.
It's a key appointment as Netball New Zealand will enter the next four year cycle for their high performance athletes, following July's World Cup.
Hotter was there when the Silver Ferns won the World Cup in 2019 and is looking forward to working with coach Dame Noeline Taurua again.
Stephen Hotter. Photo: Netball New Zealand
"Obviously we had great success in 2019 so really looking forward to striking that relationship back up, I really enjoyed working for Dame Noels it was awesome."
As lead strength and conditioning coach, Hotter saw the benefits of the strict fitness targets that Dame Noeline decided to set before the 2019 World Cup.
"We had the players, we'd shifted the fitness, so we had really good healthy players for the duration of that tournament and that was a message that we had built up prior to the tournament, that we really wanted to be fit and strong and healthy for campaign.
"There was a real strong performance culture but also a strong team culture within that group so it was a really nice environment to be in. I felt everyone enjoyed each other's company which is really important in situations like this because they are tough environments."
Hotter believes a strength based approach also worked well for the side.
"Everyone I suppose has weaknesses and you can work on those but if you really amplify what the strengths are of individuals I think you get the best out of the collective."
He said the strength of the collective was important.
"You know the development squads, the upwards pressure at the time, there were players pushing for positions and that just keeps the appropriate tension on at the high end to make sure everyone's trying their hardest."
Hotter said the World Cup in July will be a new beast.
"While you might be the defending champions I think you've got to go out there and win it again so it's not necessarily a defence thing but I really think we're in a good position to go out and win it again, absolutely.
"Pinnacle events are not easy to win, you've got to win the big games that count, or you're out. There were 16 years between wins prior to 2019 and that wasn't through a lack of trying or a lack of quality players, it's just a tough event to win."
Stephen Hotter is looking forward to working with Dame Noeline Taurua again. Photo: Photosport Ltd 2018 www.photosport.nz
Hotter said there were more contenders for the title now.
"South Africa will have great home crowds, Jamaica, England, and Australia are all strong. Some of the other nations like Uganda for instance are improving all the time so there's going to be some tough games. It's really important that the players stay tight as a team and enjoy the challenge together."
Hotter said attention to detail was everything, including having back up plans.
"Over the last four years there would have been an immense amount of planning go into this already and it is attention to detail down to who plays what quarter against what opposition for example. It's critical you plan these things down to the tiniest detail."
Hotter, who lives in Cambridge, will commute to Netball New Zealand's offices in Auckland when needed.
Most recently in his role as performance team leader with High Performance Sport NZ, cycling and rowing have been his focus.
"I guess they are less team sports and more physiological sports so there's probably more of a culture aspect to netball, trying to bring a group of 12 or a collective of 18 squad members together as opposed to potentially one or two riders for example.
"I think netball do a really good job, I was always impressed with the way they ran things. I know that there's work going on to reset the strategy, that I haven't been part of yet so I'm really looking forward to getting into that working group and seeing what the plans are to move forward."
So what is it about the sport that keeps drawing Hotter back?
"It's a fast explosive game, you've got to be athletic to play it at the highest level and there's a lot of positives about the game, it's inclusive, it's a really diverse game. I just love it, it's always been in my life I suppose."
Hotter has witnessed some of the Silver Ferns' classic matches with the likes of rivals Australia and expects there will be more.
"When you've got a game with an alternating centre pass and two teams so tightly matched it just lends itself to really enthralling finishes and it can be quite hard on the old nervous system, but I think that's what makes it such a great spectacle."
