England Netball is delighted to announce the appointment of Karen Greig as the England U21 Head Coach and Sheonah Forbes as the Pathway Head Coach.
Karen joins England Netball following a successful Vitality Netball Superleague season as Head Coach of Manchester Thunder, which saw her and the team take home the Vitality Netball Superleague Grand Final trophy.
During her colourful netball career, Greig spent eight years as England Netball’s North West Pathway Coach, successfully identifying and helping players to achieve their goals to be selected for the Roses programme.
As the new U21 Head Coach at England Netball, Karen will be responsible for leading and delivering a world class programme for the England U21 athletes and will be preparing them for the U21 World Youth Cup in Fiji 2021.
She said: “I am really excited and grateful to have been given the opportunity to lead such a talented age group. It’s going to be a completely different challenge for me and I can’t wait to get stuck in.
“I’m also very thankful to Manchester Thunder for fully supporting me with this role and giving me the opportunity to develop further as a coach.
“I love netball and being a coach! Every day is different, the diversity and types of athletes that are involved makes it an exciting sport with new challenges. I’m looking forward to working with the athletes and working to ensure we have good relationships with Superleague coaches to support the athletes and provide them with the best platform moving forward.”
Tracey Neville, Head Coach of the Vitality Roses, said of Karen’s appointment: “Karen has been an instrumental leader at Manchester Thunder, having developed the team and their culture over the past three years. She has a wealth of experience at bringing athletes through the North West pathway, having already supported and developed many young and talented players who are now contributing significantly to our Vitality Netball Superleague and Vitality Roses’ success.
“To have a coach with Karen’s experience as England U21 Head Coach will be valuable in leading a programme that not only challenges the athletes but gives them the best preparation in performing at the next World Youth Cup in 2021.”
Sheonah Forbes, the new Pathway Head Coach, has spent 10 years coaching in the North West region and the last two years plying her trade for Manchester Thunder as the team’s Pathway Head Coach.
In her new role with England Netball, Sheonah will be overseeing the development and progress of the pathway programmes and creating a world class environment for the Roses Academy programme.
Sheonah said: “I am absolutely delighted to be taking on the role of Pathway Head Coach and can’t wait to get started.
“Jan Crabtree has done a fantastic job of developing the pathway to where it is and I am looking forward to building on the future of the Roses Academy. I hope to continue to develop individually as a coach in this role and to develop the careers of our athletes.”
Former Pathway Head Coach, Jan Crabtree, who is retiring this summer after more than 10 years with England Netball, said: “I’m really thrilled for Sheonah to be taking on this role. With her experience at working within the Roses Academy this year and leading the Manchester Thunder pathway for the past two years, I know she will do a great job.”
