Emma Thacker

Biography

Emma was inducted into the Vitality Roses programme for 2023, moving up from the Future Roses where she was selected for the first time in 2022.

The shooter began her netball journey in Year 2 at a school in London. A few years later she joined a club in Oxford where she played in matches against clubs across the whole of the South region from Milton Keynes down to Southampton, crediting her mum for her dedication, driving her to and from games.

From then, Emma trialled at London Pulse before joining Surrey Storm’s U15 National Performance League (NPL) side. She moved up to the U17 side where they came second in the competition and this led to a call-up to the England Roses Academy in 2018.

The following year, Emma was selected to represent England U17s at Netball Europe, working under her now Head Coach at Loughborough Lightning, Vic Burgess. A few months later, she went with the England U17s on a tour of New Zealand and Australia.

Notably at just 15, Emma was given a place in the 20-strong long squad for the World Youth Cup in 2021 however, the tournament was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2020, Emma returned to London Pulse as she was named in their 2021 Netball Super League (NSL) squad. A season later, she moved up to the Midlands to join Loughborough Lightning, where she has spent the last two seasons, fitting netball around her studies in Geography and Sport Science. Emma was part of the NSL-winning Loughborough Lightning side for the 2023 season, before making the move to Saracens Mavericks for the 2024 season.

Emma was selected to represent England at the FAST5 Netball World Series two years in a row, winning bronze at the 2023 event.

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