Athlete Spotlight – Brand Ambassador Sophie
Here at Elite, we’re all about empowering and improving the confidence of the players on and off the court. This year, for the first time, we have player Brand Ambassadors at Elite Netball Academy.
Our Ambassadors will help raise awareness of Elite Netball Academy through their own stories and achievements within the game and amongst their peer group. Being an ambassador will give players additional skills off the court and give them a taste of what it’s like having additional responsibility within a team. We hope this programme helps develop players and creates responsible leaders who represent everything Elite is passionate about.
Our ambassadors nominated themselves to be selected and then a group of Elite Netball Academy coaches got together to pick an ambassador for each High-Performance Centre class. In this blog, we meet midcourter, Lancashire U13 Ambassador Sophie.
Name: Sophie
Age: 13
School/Club: Garstang Community Academy/Wyre Netball Club
Time playing netball: Seven years
Favourite netball player: Natalie Metcalf
Aspirations in netball: To keep progressing through Manchester Thunder’s Pathway
Pre-match food of choice: Pasta
Training with Elite Netball Academy: Since September 2022
What keeps you motivated: My competitiveness and trying to be the best I can be.
Why did you want to be a Brand Ambassador?
I wanted to be a Brand Ambassador because I wanted to take on a new role in something I haven’t done before and improve my confidence. I think it will be a great opportunity to promote Elite and show others how much you get out of it.
What are you most looking forward to doing in your role as an Elite Brand Ambassador?
I am looking forward to representing Elite with this new role and also having the opportunity to learn skills from current Superleague players that I can take back into my training sessions. I also want to show other netballers how good Elite is and how much it can improve your netball skills and fitness.
How long have you been training with Elite?
I have been training with Elite since September 2022
What do you enjoy about training with Elite?
I like the intensity of the training and the opportunity to train with girls from different clubs. I enjoy pushing myself through the fitness and the drills. I think the feedback we get is good as it gives advice on what to work on.
What are your favourite sessions at Elite?
My favourite sessions at Elite are the technical drills which I can work on. I also like it when we focus on a certain area of the court which I can use in match play.
Meet u15 North East brand ambassador Niala
Tell us about the friends you have made at Elite
I think it is a great opportunity to meet girls from other clubs and also be able to be with the ones from my club at the same time. We all enjoy improving our netball skills. In my age group, there are five girls from my team, some more from my club and the rest are from different clubs in Lancashire.
What would you say to anyone considering joining Elite?
Elite is a great opportunity to push yourself without worrying about what other teammates are doing. The coaches are always there to give feedback on things to improve your skills and push you to your potential.
Aspirations in netball
Continue progressing through the Manchester Thunder Pathway and pushing myself to the best of my ability where ever this may be.
What keeps you motivated
My competitiveness and trying to be the best I can be.
What’s it like getting training and support from Superleague players Natalie Metcalf, Nat Panagarry and Paige Reed?
I think it is great that we can have sessions with netballers that have reached the top of the sport and have all the experience to pass on. I have had a couple of sessions with Natalie Metcalf and Nat Panagarry previously and have really enjoyed them, it will be great to have more training sessions with them.
To enquire about how Elite Netball Academy could progress your netball training, please fill out the contact form below a member of the Elite team will be in touch:
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