Simone McKinnis is a former Australia netball international and the current head coach of

Melbourne Vixens Melbourne Vixens is an Australian netball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Victoria in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team was formed in 2007 ...

Suncorp Super Netball Suncorp Super Netball is the top level netball league featuring teams from Australia. In 2017 it replaced the ANZ Championship, which also included teams from New Zealand, as the top level netball league in Australia. Since 2019, the league has ...

. As a player she was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the ...

and

1995 World Netball Championships The 1995 World Netball Championships was the ninth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Birmingham, England and featured a record 27 teams. South Africa national netball team, ...

, the

1993 World Games The 1993 World Games ( nl, 1993 Wereldspelen), the fourth World Games, were an international multi-sport event held in The Hague, Netherlands. Titles 155 titles were awarded in 23 sports (not including invitational sports — aikido, equestrian ...

and the

1998 Commonwealth Games The 1998 Commonwealth Games ''(Malay language, Malay: Sukan Komanwel 1998)'', officially known as the XVI Commonwealth Games ''(Malay: Sukan Komanwel ke-16)'', was a multi-sport event held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. This edition is marked by sev ...

. She also captained the

Melbourne Phoenix Melbourne Phoenix were an Australian netball team that represented Netball Victoria in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 1997 and 2007, together with Melbourne Kestrels, they were one of two teams to represent Netball Victoria in the Comm ...

team that won the 1997

Commonwealth Bank Trophy The Commonwealth Bank Trophy, also referred to as the National Netball League, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1997 and 2007. The league was organized by Netball Australia. Its main sponsor was the Commonwealth Ba ...

. She was head coach when Vixens won the 2014 ANZ Championship and the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball titles. In

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

, McKinnis was awarded the

Medal of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

and in 2010 was inducted into the

Australian Netball Hall of Fame The Australian Netball Hall of Fame was established by Netball Australia in 2008. The inaugural inductees included Margaret Caldow, Anne Sargeant, Vicki Wilson and Joyce Brown. Athlete members The following Australian netball international ...

Early life and family

McKinnis is one of five sisters. The McKinnis family spent time in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to ...

and

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

before eventually settling in

Geelong Geelong ( ) ( Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the south eastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon ...

Playing career

Early years

McKinnis began playing

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

with

-based Herne Hill. She later played for the Melbourne Club at Royal Park. She started in Melbourne Green, alongside

Roselee Jencke Roselee Jencke is a former Australia netball international and netball coach. As a player, Jencke was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medal at the 1991 World Netball Championships and the silver medals at the 1985 World Gam ...

, before progressing through Reds and Golds and eventually Melbourne Blues.

Esso/Mobil Superleague

During the

Esso/Mobil Superleague The Esso Superleague, later known as the Mobil Superleague, was the top level national Australian netball league between 1985 and 1996. The league was Australia's first national netball league. It was organized by the All Australia Netball As ...

era, McKinnis played for several teams. In 1990 she played for Melbourne City, a composite team coached by

Norma Plummer Norma Margaret Plummer AM (born 24 November 1944) is a former Australian national player who also served as netball coach for both Australia and South Africa. She was coach of Australia from 2003 to 2011, ending her coaching career with the ...

that also featured

and

Shelley O'Donnell Shelley O'Donnell is a former Australia netball international. Between 1990 and 1999, O'Donnell made 84 senior appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the 1991, 1995 and 1999 World Netball Cha ...

. Melbourne City finished as champions after defeating

Adelaide Contax Contax Netball Club are an Australian netball team based in Adelaide, South Australia. Their senior team currently plays in the Netball South Australia Premier League. Between 1989 and 1996, Contax represented Netball South Australia in the Esso ...

52–42 in the grand final. In 1993 she was vice-captain of a Melbourne Pumas captained by Jencke and coached by Norma Plummer. In 1994 she played for Adelaide Garville as an "import player" and helped them reach the grand final. In 1995 and 1996, McKinnis played for Melbourne Pumas in two successive grand finals, finishing as winners in 1996. Her later Pumas team mates included

Janine Ilitch Janine Claire Ilitch (née Lynch; born 27 January 1972) is an Australian netball player. She was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder in 1993. Ilitch was born in Mordialloc, Victoria. She has been a frequent member of the Aust ...

Eloise Southby Eloise Southby-Halbish (born 6 July 1976) is an Australian sports commentator and former netball player. She was co-captain of the Melbourne Phoenix with fellow goaler, Sharelle McMahon, and also played for the Australia national netball team. N ...

and

Ingrid Dick Ingrid Dick (born 14 January 1972, in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian netball player. Playing career She played 141 matches in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy for the Melbourne Phoenix from 1997 to 2007. She is one of only 3 players to par ...

Melbourne Phoenix

In 1997 and 1998 McKinnis captained and played for

in the

. In 1997 she was the league's MVP as Phoenix won the premiership.

Australia

Between 1986 and 1998 McKinnis made 63 test appearances for Australia. She was a member of the Australia teams that won gold medals at the

and

, the

and the

Coaching career

Melbourne Phoenix

McKinnis began her senior coaching career with

in the

, serving as assistant coach to Joyce Brown and then Lisa Alexander.

Singapore Sports School

Between 2003 and 2007 McKinnis served as head netball coach at the

Singapore Sports School Singapore Sports School (SSP) is a specialised independent boarding school and statutory board under the purview of Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth of the Government of Singapore that offers an integrated sports and academic programme ...

Australian Institute of Sport

Between 2007 and 2010 McKinnis served as head coach at the

Australian Institute of Sport The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) is a high performance sports training institution in Australia. The Institute's headquarters were opened in 1981 and are situated in the northern suburb of Bruce, Canberra. The AIS is a division of th ...

. During the 2007 season she coached

AIS Canberra Darters Canberra Darters are a former Australian netball team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. The team was originally formed as a partnership between the Australian Institute of Sport and Netball ACT. Between 2003 and 2007 they playe ...

in the

. She guided AIS to two successive

Australian Netball League The Australian Netball Championships, formerly the Australian Netball League, is an Australian netball competition. Since 2008 it has served as a second level competition, initially below the ANZ Championship and later below Suncorp Super Ne ...

grand finals in 2008 and 2009. However on each occasion they lost to

Victorian Fury Victorian Fury are an Australian netball team that represents Netball Victoria in the Australian Netball League. In 2008 they were both founder members and the inaugural champions of the league. They retained the title in 2009 and completed a th ...

Australia U21

Between 2008 and 2009 McKinnis served as head coach of the Australia U21 team. She was head coach when Australia won the 2009

World Youth Netball Championships Previously known as the World Youth Netball Championships, the Netball World Youth Cup (since 2017) is the world championships of netball for national U21 teams, with all players being aged 21 years or younger. As part of the Australian Bicentena ...

, defeating New Zealand U21 64–46 in the final after going undefeated throughout the tournament.

Tanzania

Between 2010 and 2011 McKinnis served as head coach of

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands ...

. She subsequently guided them to third place at the 2010

Netball Singapore Nations Cup The Netball Singapore Nations Cup is an annual netball tournament organised and hosted by Netball Singapore. The inaugural tournament was played in 2006 and was won by Singapore. The host nation and Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ...

Melbourne Vixens

McKinnis joined the

coaching staff as a support/specialist coach for the

2012 ANZ Championship season The 2012 ANZ Championship season was the fifth season of the ANZ Championship. The 2012 season began on 31 March and concluded on 22 July. With a team coached by Noeline Taurua, captained by Laura Langman and featuring Leana de Bruin, Irene va ...

. In September 2012 she was appointed Vixens head coach. She subsequently guided Vixens to the 2014 ANZ Championship and the 2020 Suncorp Super Netball titles. McKinnis was named the Joyce Brown Coach of the Year after Vixens were minor premiers in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

and again in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...

after a second premiership. As part of her role as Vixens head coach, McKinnis also serves as head netball coach at the

Victorian Institute of Sport The Victorian Institute of Sport (VIS) is the government-funded sporting institute of the Australian state of Victoria. It provides high performance sports programs for talented athletes, enabling them to achieve national and international suc ...

Sargeant–McKinnis Cup

The Sargeant–McKinnis Cup is awarded annually to the aggregate winner of the two

matches between

and

New South Wales Swifts New South Wales Swifts are an Australian netball team based in Sydney, New South Wales. Since 2017 they have represented Netball New South Wales in Suncorp Super Netball. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. The team ...

. It is named in honour of McKinnis and

Anne Sargeant Anne Sargeant, OAM (born 28 December 1957) is a retired Australian netball player and current sports commentator. Sargeant played in the Australian national team from 1978 to 1988, captaining the side for six years. After her retirement from ...

. It was first introduced in 2004 during the

era.

Sydney Swifts Sydney Swifts were an Australian netball team based in Sydney. Between 1997 and 2007, they represented Netball New South Wales in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. Together with Sydney Sandpipers and Hunter Jaegers, they were one of thr ...

Hunter Jaegers Hunter Jaegers were an Australian netball team based in Newcastle, New South Wales. Together with Sydney Swifts and Sydney Sandpipers, they were one of three teams to represent Netball New South Wales in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy league. Hu ...

and

Melbourne Kestrels Melbourne Kestrels were an Australian netball team that represented Netball Victoria in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Between 1997 and 2007, together with Melbourne Phoenix, they were one of two teams to represent Netball Victoria in the Com ...

have previously competed for the trophy.

Honours

Player

; Australia *

World Netball Championships The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by the World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and t ...

**''Winners'':

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930 British Empire Game ...

**''Winners'':

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 ...

**''Winners'':

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...

;

**''Winners'': 1997 ;Melbourne City * Esso Super League **''Winners'': 1990 ;Melbourne Pumas * Mobil Super League **''Runners up'': 1995 **''Winners'': 1996

Head coach

;

**''Winners'':

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was own ...

**''Winners'':

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

; Australia U21 *

**''Winners'': 2009 ;

**''Runners up'': 2008, 2009

Individual awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McKinnis, Simone Living people Australian netball players Australia international netball players Australian netball coaches Netball players from Victoria (state) Commonwealth Games medallists in netball Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Netball players at the 1998 Commonwealth Games Netball players at the 1993 World Games Melbourne Phoenix players Garville Netball Club players Melbourne Phoenix coaches Melbourne Vixens coaches Suncorp Super Netball coaches Commonwealth Bank Trophy coaches Australian Institute of Sport netball coaches Australian Netball League coaches Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Australian expatriate sportspeople in Singapore Esso/Mobil Superleague players 1966 births 1991 World Netball Championships players 1995 World Netball Championships players Sportspeople from Geelong Medallists at the 1998 Commonwealth Games