Michelle den Dekker OAM, also known as Michelle Fielke, is an Australian netballer from South Australia. den Dekker represented Australia in 84 tests between 1988 and 1995, including a record 71 as captain. She received the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to sport.[1][2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Michelle den Dekker | ||
| Born | 23 March 1966 (age 58) | ||
| Netball career | |||
| Playing position(s): Defence | |||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | |
| 1988-95 | Australia | 84 | |
| Coaching career | |||
| Years | Team(s) | ||
|
Specialist defence Assistant coach Australian Netball Diamonds | |||
Medal record | |||
| Last updated: 2015-06-24 | |||
Netball career edit
Life member of the Garville Netball Club from 1989 to 1995 and helping the club clinch five premierships in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1995.[3][4] In the national league, den Dekker was captain-coach of the Queensland Firebirds in 1997-98 before returning home to the now defunct Adelaide Ravens.[5]
den Dekker made her Australian debut in 1985, and led Australian to two world championships as captain (1991 and 1995). Michelle played a total of 84 test matches for Australia between 1985 and 1995, including 71 as captain. As captain her team enjoyed a win loss ratio of 92% (65 wins, 6 losses).[6][7]
den Dekker was voted as Adelaide's greatest netballer to have fronted for the Adelaide Thunderbirds or Adelaide Ravens.[5] She was inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame in 2009.[1]
Coaching career edit
den Dekker OAM was appointed Head Coach of Netball Australia’s new Centre of Excellence in Canberra in April 2014.[8][9]
den Dekker was the Diamonds Assistant coach for the Australian Netball Diamonds until August 2015 (the 2015 Netball World Cup). Currently still works as a consultant for Netball Australia as a Defence Specialist coach and manages her own Netball consultancy business working to develop our next generation of players and coaches in South Australia
Awards edit
- Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) in 1992[7]
- SA Great Award, for services to sport in South Australia in 1993.
- Inducted into the Australian Netball Hall of Fame 2009[7]
- Inducted into the Inaugural South Australian Hall Of Fame 2010[10]
- Ambassador for the SA Sports Hall Of Fame alongside Legend Barrie Robran AM.
- Inducted into Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2020.[11]
References edit
- ^ a b w3admin. "#92 – MICHELLE DEN DEKKER OAM | Netball Australia". netball.com.au. Retrieved 19 January 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY HONOURS ORDER OF AUSTRALIA". The Canberra Times. Vol. 66, no. 20, 875. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 8 June 1992. p. 4. Retrieved 24 July 2023 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "Our Honour List ~ Contax Netball Club". Contax.net.au. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "Garville Netball Club - The Great Greys!". Garville.com.au. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ a b "Den Dekker is SA's greatest | Adelaide Now". Archived from the original on 21 November 2011.
- ^ "About Us". Michelledendekker.com.au. Archived from the original on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ a b c atosha. "Australian Netball Hall of Fame | Netball Australia". Netball.com.au. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ Michelle Den Dekker Appointed Head Coach Of Netball Australias New Centre Of Excellence In Canberra The Courier Mail [dead link]
- ^ bradg (19 December 2013). "den Dekker appointed Diamonds assistant coach | Netball Australia". Netball.com.au. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ "KPMG South Australian Sport Hall of Fame and Legends". Sportsa.org.au. 15 September 2010. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
- ^ Colangelo, Anthony (4 December 2020). "Women's T20 side, Eales claim top honours at Sport Australia awards". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 December 2020.