By Stephanie Smarrelli
The NSW Swifts didn’t have to look far for their next coach.
After spending the past two seasons inside one of Australian netball’s most successful clubs, Dylan Nexhip believed he was ready to lead it.
When applications opened, he knew he had to back himself.
Like any big decision, he was measured in his approach, talking it through with his family. Their advice was simple: if you think you’re ready, put your hand up.
“I wasn’t going to talk myself out of it,” Nexhip said.
“I've been inside this club for the past two seasons, I know what's here, the talent, the culture, the standards and I felt ready.
“I believe I can add value to the Swifts, and you don't get many chances at something like this.”
Nexhip put his best foot forward throughout the interview process, but the moment he was told he had the job is one he'll never forget.
“It was a wave of different emotions, but more than anything it was a moment of pride,” he said.
"Just knowing I've got to this point in my coaching career via a different route."
His elation is balanced by an appreciation of the responsibility that comes with leading the Swifts.
“It's a huge privilege,” he said.
Nexhip felt ready to take the next step in his coaching career.
“I am very excited, but I also understand the responsibility that comes with leading a club such as the Swifts.
“There’s 30 years of history, I’m grateful I've been trusted with this next chapter.”
While winning premierships remains the ultimate goal, it’s the opportunity to shape the lives of the people he works with that excites Nexhip the most.
“I want to connect our history, our legacy and use that to drive what this next chapter looks like,” he said.
“We're a proud club with so many incredible athletes and humans who have come through this club and played great netball, but they then go on and do great things in life.
“That excites me, how I can put a different spin on what we do and continue to make sure this club drives people to reach their goals.”
That people-first approach underpins the culture Nexhip hopes to build.
Under his leadership he wants the Swifts to be connected from one end to the other, both on and off the court.
"On the court, we want to see a team that's connected and has a beautiful balance between structured discipline and creative freedom,” he said.
“We want to see people playing inspired netball and that's what my role is, to make sure everything in the background is done to enable that to happen.
“Also making sure there's the joy factor is there because when people enjoy what they're doing that's when they perform to their best.”
For Nexhip, communication and trust are the foundations of any successful high-performance environment.
Nexhip hopes he can build on the club's legacy and ensure the side is well connected.
“At the end of the day, we're all human,” he said.
“Communication is super important. It's being able to build those relationships and making sure you establish them with the foundation of trust.
“Once you've got trust in any environment, you can achieve great things.”
He’s also a firm believer that success is built long before game day.
“From my time as an assistant coach, I’ve learned it's about all the little things,” he said.
“The little things are needed to make sure high-performance occurs daily.
“It's all the preparation, the work behind the scenes, the planning, the connections, and making sure everyone is clear with what their role is so then they can do their job to the best of their ability.
“That's not just the staff, that's the players as well.”
Culture, he believes, can’t simply be dictated by coaches; it has to be built together.
“Culture is the outcome that you're striving towards,” he said.
“That’s the daily habits that sit within the group that enable a great culture to be created.
“For us, it's about making sure from day one, we're really clear what our expectations are and that the athletes have buy in to how this is created.”
Nexhip may lead as the head coach but he knows team culture is a group effort.
Central to that is ensuring athletes have ownership of the environment the club is creating as well.
“The players need to have a voice in terms of the direction they want to go,” he said.
“As staff, we need to provide that platform for the players to lead what they want their culture to look like.
“It’s important we’re open to having those conversations, we can reflect and refine an idea then go again.
“If everyone's got a voice then everyone turns up each day trying to be better than what they were the day before.”
Character will be at the forefront of Nexhip’s recruitment strategy.
While the contract signing period is yet to begin, Nexhip knows exactly what he wants from the people who walk through the doors.
"It’s character before anything else,” he said.
“It's making sure we have the right people who can connect to the vision and drive the vision forward.
“Once we’ve got the right people in place, we can continue to develop the different areas that we need to develop in those people, particularly on the court.
“What are their strengths? What are their values? And what can we do to support them with their netball journey.”
Before stepping into coaching, Nexhip experienced high-performance environments firsthand as captain of the Australian Men’s netball team, the Kelpies, where he learned lessons that continue to shape him today.
For Nexhip character comes before skills when building a team.
“Hard work can never be underestimated,” he said.
"As a player, I realised I had to get better in certain spaces and to do that I had to work hard to get fitter, to get stronger, to get faster.
“That enabled me to have the opportunities I had as a player. It’s the same in any position you're in as a coach.
“I need to make sure I'm open to learning, I take on feedback and I'm willing to grow because no one knows everything, we're all able to get better day in, day out.”
Nexhip credits two coaches from his time with the Kelpies with influencing the coach he has become.
“I started with Nerida Stewart, she stepped in as a first-time head coach and I was a first-time as captain as well,” he said.
“We built the ship together which was pretty cool and we were able to take it in the direction that we wanted.
“My final coach in that space was Jane Woodlands-Thompson and we continued to push the program forward. The way she worked was so innovative and creative.
“Her understanding of high performance is something I've never seen in anyone before.
“Both those relationships are really special to me and are relationships I'll continue to foster for a long time.”
That respect won’t disappear when he comes up against Stewart’s GIANTS in the Super Netball competition next year.
“I haven’t put too much thought into coaching against her, but we've got a great relationship,” he said.
The former Kelpies captain hasn't put much thought into going head-to-head with his former coach Nerida Stewart.
“There'll be banter back and forth as there always is between us.
“At the end of the day when we go into battle we'll be against each other but then when the game is finished, we’ll leave everything there.
“That's something I've always prided myself on, the ability to know once the game starts, you go into game mode and then whatever happens on the court stays on the court.”
As attention turns to 2027, Nexhip wants the Swifts to be known for their adaptability.
“It’s making sure our game plan is suited to the personnel we have,” he said.
“That we have a strengths-based approach.
“We want to be known as a team that's not predictable and we want to be known as a team that can adapt to anything that's put in front of us.
“We’ll work really hard in the pre-season to bring that to life.”
While the pursuit of a premiership will always be part of elite sport, success in Nexhip’s first season as head coach will stretch beyond the final ladder.
"Success can be looked at as an outcome but then success can be looked at by what happens in the journey along the way,” he said.
“In high-performance sport everybody is striving to win that premiership so that does come into play but for me, success looks like a club that is thriving.
“In 12 months, success will be that we've increased our membership, our fanbase has grown, our viewership has increased, we've given more accessibility to our members, and we've got a team that's more connected than ever before.
Nexhip wants the Swifts to be unpredictable next season.
“That is what true success is.”
The next chapter of the Swifts is only just beginning.
As Nexhip prepares to lead it he has one clear message for the Swifts’ faithful.
"Get on board, trust the process, and let's build the excitement together for what's to come.”
