Victorious New Zealand under-21 coach Kiri Wills has been named to coach the Northern Stars in the ANZ Premiership.
Kiri Wills coaching the NZ Under-21 side. Photo: Netball NZ
Wills has recently returned with the national age-group side from the World Youth Cup in Botswana where she guided them to gold and back-to-back world titles.
She will take over from Australian Julie Hoornweg who coached the new Northern Stars team during their debut season in New Zealand's elite domestic league.
"It has been an ambition of mine to guide a team in the ANZ Premiership and it's exciting to do that with the newest one in the league," Wills said.
Wills will not start her role with the Northern Stars until December 1 and she will continue preparations with New Zealand's Fast5 Ferns for the World Netball Series where they will aim to defend their title in Melbourne in October.
As a player she represented the New Zealand under-21 side, played for Auckland and was also captain of the Diamonds before ending her career on court with the Waikato-BOP Magic.
She has held a number of coaching positions including assistant with the SKYCITY Mystics as well as national under-21 coach and Fast5 Ferns mentor.
The ANZ Premiership will commence in May next year.
