Toni Torepe didn’t have to think long about adding another ball to her daily juggle when the opportunity to join #TeamTactix arose.
The Good Oil Tactix’ new team manager will continue her fulltime job as a lecturer at the University of Canterbury while writing the “last little bit of my PhD” and helping to organise the off-court requirements and logistics for the red-and-blacks’ 2021 ANZ Premiership campaign.
It is a juggle she has relished so far.
“I’m learning to operate on a bit less sleep,” she said with a laugh. “But it’s an exciting opportunity and they’re a great bunch of players and management. I’m really looking forward to the season.”
Torepe, who takes over from Leanne Harris who spent nearly eight years in the role, has come through the ranks having managed age-group teams for the Christchurch Netball Centre before moving on to manage the Mainland side in the National Netball League (NNL) for the last three years.
She believes building relationships is key to her position and already has plenty to chat about with Tactix management – head coach Marianne Delaney-Hoshek and General Manager Haidee Stratford – both hailing from her hometown of Temuka.
Torepe said it would be a special weekend when the Tactix headed south to Timaru, not far from her hometown, on March 12-13 for a preseason double-header against the Southern Steel.
“We have a strong fan base in Timaru and it’s going to be exciting to be bringing the Tactix to play in front of our friends and families,” she said.
Family is a big reason the ardent netball fan moved along the manager’s pathway as she looked to repay the time invested into her and her children’s early sporting careers.
“It might sound a bit cliché, but we strongly believe that other people have put time into us and our kids and it was now our time to give back,” the mum-of-three said.
