Mikki Austin at the Vitality Netball Superleague (Ben Lumley)
England Netball is today launching a new coach development programme for the Head Coaches of the Vitality Netball Superleague franchises.
The initiative is intended to help develop a pool of outstanding coaches within the UK’s premier domestic competition, in line with England Netball’s international performance aspirations.
Following their gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games and bronze medal at the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup, the Vitality Roses are currently ranked third in the world but have the opportunity to defend their Commonwealth Games title on home soil in Birmingham next year.
The new programme, led by England Netball’s Performance Pathway Coach Developer Sarah Green, will run between August and December 2021. Participating coaches will hear from leading experts and explore all aspects of the Head Coach role while sharing knowledge and insight within an elite netball coach community.
England Netball’s Performance Director David Parsons said: “If we want to achieve our ambition of developing a world leading Roses team, we need to keep pushing for even higher standards in our domestic competition to continue to support the development of those current and future Roses players – and to do that we need to invest in our coaches. This new programme represents the first step in our formal support for those Head Coaches working with our best athletes through the VNSL.”
Surrey Storm Director of Netball Mikki Austin, who will be part of the scheme, said: “I am hugely excited by the announcement of a new Coach development programme. This is the first of its kind in this country and a monumental opportunity for VNSL Head coaches to continue their professional development, which can only aid both the standard of the domestic game and the Roses programme. I’m very much looking forward to being a part of it.”
