Athlete Spotlight – Brand Ambassador Lily
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 centre court player and Bradford U18, Ambassador Lily.
Name: Lily
Age: 17
Club: Temple Moor High School, Milford Netball Club and Leeds Rhinos U18 Pathway
Time playing netball: Four years
Favourite netball players: Paige Hadley and Nat Panagarry
Aspirations in netball: Play for a franchise and internationally!
Pre-match food of choice: Overnight oats
Training with Elite Netball Academy: 7 months
What keeps you motivated: Turning up and trying my best
Why did you want to be a Brand Ambassador?
I wanted to be an Elite Brand Ambassador to encourage girls who have not had the opportunity at school to play netball at a high level. As I come from a netball background like this, which then shows these girls that it is possible to achieve your dreams with hard work.
What are you most looking forward to doing in your role as an Elite Brand Ambassador?
As an Elite Brand Ambassador, I am most looking forward to being able to level-up my skills whilst being a role model for others.
How long have you been training with Elite?
I have been training with Elite for seven months.
What do you enjoy about training with Elite?
I enjoy being part of a team that is solely for player development, and everyone strives to encourage each other, not just the coaches.
What are your favourite sessions at Elite?
My favourite seasons at Elite are the fitness testing sessions as it allows me to push myself to my limits and it shows me what areas I need to work on. Additionally, the positional-specific sessions are really enjoyable as you have more one-to-one feedback from the coaches.
Meet u15 Manchester Brand ambassador Jess
Tell us about the friends you have made at Elite
Over the short time that I have been training with Elite, I have made lifelong friends. They are some of the most amazing and interesting people that I have ever met.
What would you say to anyone considering joining Elite?
If you’re nervous to go to trials whether you’re with your friends or by yourself, just take on the challenge. Push yourself out of your comfort zone because you never know what will happen until you try. Becoming part of the Elite community will help you to become the best player you can be.
Aspirations in netball
My goal would be to become an international netball player but along the way, I understand that it takes small, achievable steps to reach a huge goal like that. So my slightly shorter-term goal is to play for a U21 franchise and then eventually play in the national prem. However, at the moment I’m coming off the back of a few injuries so I’m aiming to get back to where I was a few months ago.
What keeps you motivated
I know that if I turn up for myself every single day and try my hardest in every training session, I believe that I am one step closer to achieving my aspirations.
What’s it like getting training and support from Superleague players Natalie Metcalf, Nat Panagarry and Paige Reed?
Receiving training and support from Superleague players is so useful. You can use it throughout your netball career as you are in the same situation they have been in previously. They help you progress further, not only in terms of your physical ability but also psychologically too. The mental side of sport is an important aspect but one that is never really spoken about – here at Elite it’s acknowledged and one of the four performance pillars.
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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