After an eventful, long international break there wasn’t much time for a pre season! With London Pulse we were only able to have 2 full sessions together before heading into our first game against Manchester Thunder. It was quite a quick turnaround as so many of us had been away with England, but we felt fit and ready because the pre season with England was extremely tough!
Whilst the World Cup girls were away, the rest of the England Roses programme continued training in England, which I was part of. There was a 6 week intense fitness block in which we were doing 8 sessions a week of intense training. It varied from bike sessions to court sessions to heavy gym sessions, to even completing a cross fit session on a farm. Whilst it was so intense we all agreed as athletes that we felt the fittest we had ever been, which came in perfect timing because shortly after this we flew out to New Zealand!
This was where I got my first international cap and will be a memory I cherish forever. It was even sweeter that we were able to beat New Zealand by 1 goal! I never expected to spend a Super League pre season away with England competing in a test series against New Zealand, and it really was a dream come true. We then went on to compete in the fast 5 competition in New Zealand, followed by the home series against South Africa and the nations cup against Australia, NZ and Uganda. Although I didn’t get court time against Australia, being able to say I have court experience against NZ, Uganda and South Africa is a huge step in the right direction for me and I am always so grateful to represent my country.
So even though there wasn’t much pre season time with Pulse I definitely felt like I had been playing lots of netball and training more than I probably ever have in my life! It felt good to be back in London and I felt ready to take on the first game.
Which takes me into the reflection of the season so far:
We are now reaching the half-way point of the season and it has absolutely flown by. I have been enjoying it so much and despite a few difficult results I feel like the team is getting stronger and stronger each week. It’s so exciting how young our team is, and how much of a future we have together on the court. Our whole attack end is so young and we still are able to push, challenge and coach each other every week. It feels extra special to be in an environment where you are going through your netball journeys together. And whilst this has been a challenging season so far I am learning so quickly from the amazing athletes around me and against me.
Looking ahead I have so many goals and targets I would love to reach. My biggest few are: winning a World Cup, playing in Australia SSN, and winning the Super League.
I’m super determined and I believe you have to always dream big. Being able to train with the World Cup squad before they went away was so inspiring; I was able to train and be coached by some of the greatest netball players to ever exist. I learnt so much on and off the court and although I’ve always wanted to win a World Cup it really made me believe and understand how possible it is for England to achieve that in the future. The England Roses have always inspired me and will probably inspire me for the rest of my life. To be a part of that no matter how big or small the role is something I’ll never take for granted.
To see so many England players especially shooters play out in SSN inspires me to go over there and play too. Seeing how Helen, Eleanor’s and Jos games have only grown since being out there makes me so determined to work hard and give myself the best chance possible to be given that opportunity. Their league really is second to none, and the super shot seems quite fun too. Aside from the netball I think Australia is a beautiful country and I would love to travel there again one day.
As for NSL, hopefully that’s a goal I am closer to achieving ! After missing out on the gold in the final last year I am so hungry to finally be able to upgrade my silver medal for a gold one. I think everyone from Pulse feels the same, I believe you either win or you learn, and there was lots of learnings from last year’s final that we have brought into this season. It would be amazing if we could get to the final and take the win, but every team this year deserves a spot in the top 4 and it must be earned. It will take lots of hard work and more consistent performances but it’s definitely a goal for me this year!
