Renee Hulls has wasted no time making an impact at the Melton Netball Club.
Hulls was appointed to the head coaching role in the off-season, with the Bloods beginning pre-season training in early November.
The tough regime is all geared around a climb back up the ladder.
In 2014, Melton won the Ballarat Netball League premiership, defeating Sunbury by 15 goals in the biggest game of the year.
But 2015 was tough for the Bloods, who missed out on finals and finished eighth.
“We have been hitting the track pretty hard already and have spent the past five weeks training,” Hulls said. “From day one I went through what I expect. I want to help the girls learn and take their netball to the next level.”
Hulls comes to Melton following a decorated career.
She spent the past four years as a player and coach at the Melton Centrals, helping the club win the Riddell District Netball League premiership in 2014.
She has also been a coach at interleague, state and national level.
After the 2015 season, Hulls secured an assistant coaching role with the Ballarat Sovereigns in the Victorian Netball League.
As part of her work with the Sovereigns, she decided a move to a BNL-based local club would allow her to get the most out of both roles.
“It was a tough decision to leave Centrals after achieving so much success with the club,” Hulls said.
“We won a premiership and I won a Ryan Medal (league best and fairest) with Centrals.
“I have a lot of respect for coach Randy Pereira and everyone at the club. I have my fingers crossed that the club will continue to grow and go forward.”
Melton players will continue to train in the lead-up to Christmas before taking a break throughout January.
The Bloods are likely to find out their opening-round opponent next week, with the BNL preparing to release its 2016 fixture.
Regardless of the draw, Hulls believes there are no limits to what her side can achieve.
“I’d love to be able to win a premiership with Melton,” Hulls said. “I know they won a premiership a couple of years ago and I’d love to be a part of that as a player-coach.
“It is also about pushing forward some of our juniors to get them that finals experience which will really help their development.”
