BBG Academy entered a Go Girl Insurance competition a few months ago to win a netball coaching session run by England Netball player; Natalie Panagarry. Natalie plays for Loughbrough Lightening and captains the superleague team, she is also in the England netball squad. Her sporting goal is to be selected for the netball world cup, to be held in Liverpool, in 2019.
The coaching session on 09 May 2018 started off with a questions and answer session where each of the girls were given the opportunity to get a real understanding of Natalie’s passion and aspirations for the sport. Some of Natalie’s top tips were; to always believe in yourself, work hard in training not just in matches and also never forget warm ups and cool downs, they are very important because otherwise you may injure yourself.
After the Q&A we did some reaction time work which set the pace expected of us through the session. We then moved onto a variety of drills which focused on running with your hips open, fast drives and always watching the ball. Once we had all mastered these drills we added defence, making this a more realistic to a match play scenario.
Our school is extremely fortunate to have a dedicated Netball Academy for Year 8 and 9 girls, but the passion for netball is alive through all school years. It was a fantastic opportunity for the girls and even though not all were able to take part, they were able to watch and learn from the experience. All the girls had a picture taken and signed by Natalie.
It was an amazing opportunity to meet with Natalie and to hear her successful journey through netball. This has inspired me to believe you can achieve anything if you put your mind to it.
Harriet Mackrill, Year 9 Student at BBG Academy
