Lees served as an assistant coach under Adrian “AJ” Ballantyne for the silver medal-winning Victorian 19-and-under state team for the 2025 National Netball Championships.
For the upcoming 2026 Netball National Championships in April, Lees has been announced to take the reins of the 17-and-under team that won bronze in 2025.
Lees has had extensive involvement with Netball Victoria’s Talent Academy and trained in coaching at the Victorian Institute of Sport.
“We’re thrilled to welcome back AJ (Ballantyne) after a successful campaign and equally excited to see Belinda step into the 17-under head coach role following her years of dedicated service to our programs,” Netball Victoria’s general manager high performance and pathways Sharelle McMahon said.
The 2026 National Netball Championships will showcase the country’s best emerging talent across the 17-and-under and 19-and-under age groups.
The competition has played a crucial role in the pathway journeys of many past and present Suncorp Super Netball and Australian Diamonds players.
Lees reflected on the coaching appointment and the honour it was to be given the chance to shape and lead the next generation of Victorian netballers to potential National Championship success and beyond.
“Last year was a great stepping stone into the head coaching role this year and I’m incredibly excited, the fact that they’ve put their trust in me feels very special,” Lees said.
“It’s an honour to influence the next generation of netballers, especially because Victoria is a proud state when it comes to netball with many Diamonds coming through that program.
“It’s definitely an opportunity to instil what it means to be an athlete representing Victoria in the high-performance pathway and ensuring those standards are maintained and upheld.
“A Victorian athlete is renowned for being a great person on and off the court and relentless in their desire to be the best versions of themselves, so I’m excited to be able to lead that.
“Being able to influence the next crop of netball stars is very exciting and I’m looking forward to getting started.”
Victoria’s preparations for the 2026 National Netball Championships are under way, following recent pathway events including the Association Championships and State Titles, where numerous athletes from the Goulburn Valley and Murray leagues were identified and invited to trial.
These include Echuca’s Kate Head and Echuca United’s Diaz Agg and Chloe Moyle for the 17-and-under trial and Echuca’s Rose Byrne and Emma Head and Echuca United’s Coby Morgan for the 19-and-under trial.
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