Janine van Wyk gears up for her first ever coaching stint

The retired defender has taken over from Mitch Stevens on the bench of the Blue Diamonds and will be in charge of JVW when they face newcomers Ezemvelo Ladies in the opening match of the 2025 Hollywoodbets Super League.

The clash takes place on Sunday at the University of Johannesburg Stadium in Soweto. Speaking exclusively to SABC Sport, Van Wyk says she is looking forward to her first official game as a head coach.

"It's almost like I am ready to play a big match in my career. I'm feeling the nerves and the butterflies and excitement; I think it's good nerves and good emotions that I'm feeling,” Van Wyk said.

“Of course my first game as a head coach officially, so I'm quite excited and having had a good preseason with the team, some challenges that we faced along the way with weather conditions as we train in the evenings, loadshedding of course and having to adjust so I quickly learnt how to deal with challenges fast,

“But luckily, I had a successful career to continue to be resilient but very excited for the upcoming match against unknown opponents in the Hollywoodbets league, Ezemvelo. Quite excited to see what they bring to the league as well."

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The match between JVW and Ezemvelo Ladies kicks off at midday on Sunday.

It is part of a double header at the University of Johannesburg Stadium, with hosts UJ Ladies welcoming other newcomers University of Cape Town (UCT) at 3pm in the first Varsity Derby of the 2025 Hollywoodbets Super League season.

Following her appointment to the hot seat at JVW, Van Wyk has made some changes to the playing personnel, releasing others and also reinforcing the team.

She says it’s all part of the game as she tries to implement her own playing philosophy and find her identity.

"Yeah, there are some players that have come in and players that have left and that is due to the kind of style and philosophy that I've brought to the team. It will be completely different to what you saw last season and that's just for me trying to find my own identity as a coach and trying to implement it with the players that I have and the player that I've acquired is suitable for the style that I want to play."