Natalie Avellino

Natalie Ann Allison Avellino (born 15 December 1970)[1] is a retired Australian netballer, and former assistant coach of the Southern Steel netball team in the ANZ Championship. She made the Australia national netball team from 1994–1995 and again from 2004-2006 which included key competitions like one world championships and one Commonwealth Games. She was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder.

Natalie Avellino

Natalie Avellino (centre) in action for the Southern Sting in 2004.
Personal information
Full name	Natalie Ann Allison Avellino
Born	(1970-12-15) 15 December 1970
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Netball career
Playing position(s): WA, GA, GS
Years	Club team(s)	Apps
1997-07	Adelaide Ravens
	Sydney Sandpipers
	Sydney Swifts
	Southern Sting
Years	National team(s)	Caps
1994–95, 2004-06	Australia
Coaching career
Years	Team(s)
2008–2010	Southland
2011-present	Southern Steel
Medal record Representing  Australia Commonwealth Games 2006 Melbourne Netball Netball World Championships 1995 Birmingham Netball
Last updated: 2009-03-12

Domestically, Avellino played for three Australian Commonwealth Bank Trophy teams, Adelaide Ravens, Sydney Sandpipers and the Sydney Swifts. In 2004 she fell out with Netball Australia and was drafted to New Zealand playing for Southern Sting in the National Bank Cup, a team which won seven out of ten of the National Bank Cup titles (1999–2004, 2007) as a backup shooter for Donna Wilkins and Tania Dalton who later got injured.

Avellino played for the Sting until 2007 when she retired to become the Southland Netball coach in the National Provincial Championships. She recently took Southland to the National Provincial Champs, where they won the National title for the first time in 49 years after previously being big contenders in the 1950s. She has since been announced as the new Southern Steel co-coach and will work with former Otago Rebels coach and current New Zealand under 21 mentor Janine Southby.[2] They replace Robyn Broughton who had coached the Steel for the previous four seasons, and all ten years in the National Bank Cup with the Southern Sting.

Avellino has also worked in New Zealand media.[3] She is a netball writer for The Southland Times, and worked for Sky Television as a commentator during the ANZ Championship from 2008-2011. She will give up the microphone in 2012 though, because of her Steel commitments.

On 14 July 2000, Avellino was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for contributions to netball as player.[4]