Netball Singapore appoints Australian Tara Steel as national head coach and technical director

SINGAPORE – Since arriving in Singapore about a fortnight ago, new national netball coach Tara Steel’s schedule has been filled with meetings and matches as she seeks to gain a deep understanding of the local scene.

The 39-year-old Australian, who will also serve as Netball Singapore’s technical director, has been appointed on a two-year contract starting from March 2025.

She succeeds New Zealander Annette Bishop, who stepped down from the role in September 2024 for personal reasons after nearly five years.

Steel said the job appealed to her because of her passion in developing not just the opens squad, but also youth and coaches.

“The Singapore opportunity presented a really nice role that captured all of that, that I thought would be a nice fit for all my skills, but also a good challenge for me,” she added.

She grew up playing netball, representing the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) at the national championships, but quit at 27 to focus full time on coaching.

Since then, she has coached within the ACT and Netball Australia pathways, most recently serving as the Canberra Netball Association Division 1 team’s head coach.

She has also overseen the Under-19 and U-17 ACT state teams at the national championships, and was assistant coach of the Canberra Giants in Australia’s Super Netball League.

Netball Singapore president Trina Liang said Steel’s “extensive experience in both coaching and leadership will be invaluable” as they eye greater heights and prepare for the SEA Games in December.

“We believe she is the right person to build on the strong foundation set by her predecessors,” Liang added.

Steel was looking for the next step in her coaching career, when former Australia national coach Jill McIntosh told her about the opportunity in Singapore.

McIntosh, 69, was a consultant coach alongside interim head coach Yeo Mee Hong, when the Singapore Vandas won their first continental title in 10 years by clinching the 2024 Asian Netball Championship.

Steel will be hoping to build on that success in a busy 2025 as netball returns to the SEA Games for the first time since 2019. 

Two other events have also been lined up ahead of the biennial Games in Thailand – the UAE Nations Cup in June and the Singlife Nations Cup here in November.

On what she hopes to achieve with the team, Steel said: “Ultimately, getting success and winning the tournaments we’re in this year is goal No. 1 in terms of performance.

“But, for me, it’s more how we’re playing and what that looks like in terms of individual skill execution and then how the team comes together in terms of the build-up and environment we are creating.”

She was involved in the selection of the opens squad, which was unveiled after the Deloitte Netball Super League final on March 23. Blaze clinched their fourth straight title with a 55-46 win over Sneakers at the Jurong East Sport Hall.

In her other role as technical director, Steel will be looking to develop the talent pool.

She is aware of certain challenges that are pertinent to the Singapore scene after watching NSL matches and meeting various stakeholders in the fraternity.

A key issue would be finding the best ways to support the players who are not full-time athletes.

But this is something that Steel has had experience with, having worked as the general manager of sports operations with Touch Football Australia.

Unlike netball, touch football is not a professional sport in Australia but it enjoys a high level of participation.

Steel said: “The role for us is how do we make netball a choice and make it an environment that people want to make sure they’re a part of whatever level it is they’re playing?

“Especially at the open and international level, but all those underpinning levels are just as important or else we won’t have the best athletes representing Singapore.”