Netball fanatic appointed as team manager
The respected team manager of the Mpumalanga Sunbirds, Maria Cato, has been appointed to take on the managerial role for the South African development team.
The 47-year-old has had a memorable career so far and she is more than excited to be part of the team.
“I have a passion for the youngsters, as all involved in netball’s main goal is to nourish up-and-coming Protea players.”
Born in Middelburg and raised in Cape Town, Cato said her love of netball came from watching her aunt play. She only started playing netball herself at the age of 14 at Labori High School in Paarl.
“I am crazy about sport, but netball is very close to my heart. My father’s passion has always been farming. He was doing duty in correctional services, but later on we moved to the farm which was 40 kilometres outside town. There was no way that I could do sports, but luckily in high school I went to boarding school and I finally got the chance to practise the sport.”
Cato played for Wellington Netball Club from 1990, when she met her husband – you guessed correctly – next to a netball court. They both relocated to White River in December 1996.
She joined Nelspruit Netball Club from 1997 and played for SAPS Mpumalanga Netball from 2001 to 2014.
In 2006 she started playing action netball, which she still enjoys today.
She previously assisted in coaching and managing the u/13 junior action netball team, which participated in the inter-provincial tournament (IPT) in 2015. Cato has also coached the open ladies and open mix action teams during last year’s IPT in Gauteng.
Port Elizabeth recently hosted the annual Spar National Netball Champs, in which Cato coached the Ehlanzeni senior A team. “I did, however, miss my husband’s birthday. But he is very supportive and he knows that I am very loyal to the sport.”
