Jaime Barr has officially called time on her playing career at the top level of Hampden league netball.
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But the North Warrnambool coach, 34, said she would be well supported by sisters Jordyn and Skye Billings – the Eagles’ new assistant playing-coaches.
And on-field leadership could also come in the form of the potentially returning premiership player Rachael Batten.
“I'm getting on in age I guess – I wasn't keen on putting the body through it again this year,” Barr said.
“Also I've tried to play and coach and have just found it really difficult to make decisions from the court.”
Barr said her primary goal was now to build chemistry between the open and division one sides, with the aim of building a squad mentality.
While the Eagles finished third on the ladder in open and first in division one, neither side made the grand final in 2018, which led to Barr’s desire to tackle eligibility issues.
“We're really keen to have it as a squad for as long as we can,” she said.
“Other clubs have done that better than us in the past, and last year we probably got caught out in the finals.”
Barr said a key to achieving this overlap would be having Sophie Ballinger, who she has playing experience with, coach division one.
“The idea is to have the same game plan across the two sides, so anyone moving will know what they're doing,” she said.
And while some experienced players would be lost to study, Barr said she was looking forward to seeing more of former 17-and-under players Zoe Bussell, Phoebe Wittmann and Ash Ferguson.
