EARLY YEARS
What made you choose this sport over others?
As a youngster I loved sport – football, badminton, ballet, athletics, swimming – and many more. After a few years balancing many sports, I ended up focusing more on athletics and netball. I decided on netball because I loved that it was a team sport. My favourite event in athletics was the relay – passing the baton to one another and competing as a team on the track in one event. For me, it was all about being part of a team. Needing everyone on the court to participate and do a job in order to win is really cool to be a part of.
Who were your sporting heroes growing up?
My heroes in netball would be Tamsin Greenway and Serena Guthrie. Off the court, they would be my mum, my sisters and my husband, Josh.
TRAINING
How often do you train?
My training schedule is pretty much six days on with a rest day once a week. Week to week it can look pretty different, and from pre-season to in-season the focus will shift. So, in pre-season it would be heavily fitness and weights based. Whereas in season the netball ramps up and we get out on to court as much as possible.
What is your favourite training session/exercise/drill?
Favourite training session for me has definitely got to be netball based. A combination of netball drills that get the heart rate up (skills, competitions, half-court practice) plus the second part of the session really testing my thinking netball brain – working through overloads, decision making drills – I’m a big fan of!
Best piece of advice from your coach?
Oooh great question! I’ve received a lot of advice and feedback during my career, all of which has helped shape and guide me to who and where I am today, both on and off the court. A few years back I got a lot of support on finding my voice out on court, stepping up as a leader in attack and believing in myself more. It was definitely a challenge for me at first but honestly, it’s one of the best pieces of advice I’ve ever been given. It helped me build my self-belief and confidence out on court, take my game to the next level and enable me to help my team mates out more which is really important to me.
What’s been your greatest sporting moment so far?
I’ve been fortunate enough to have many great sporting moments so far which I will cherish forever. The greatest for me right now though would have to be the 2018 Commonwealth Games final and winning the gold medal for the first time in history with the England Roses – chills!
