Name: Ellie Farley
University: Hertfordshire University
Studying: Tourism Management & French
Course Length: 3 years
Goals after University: Cabin Crew Apprenticeship at British Airways and train to become a flight attendant
Netball at School: Team Beds Regional U19s, SWA
Netball Post School: Herts Uni BUCS 2s, Team Beds Regional Seniors

I really loved doing netball at SWA, it was something different which I hadn’t done before at school and we all had such a great friendship. I always looked forward to matches and away days, and the training we had was always amazing. We didn’t always just do netball; cooking lessons and yoga made the program even more enjoyable.

 

Name: Emma Horsford
University: Leeds Beckett University
Studying: Sports Event Management
Course Length: 4 years (including a placement year)
Goals after University: Sports Industry - involvement within a professional club
Netball at School: Shefford NC, SWA, Great Barford Netball
Netball Post School: Local Leeds team or BUCS

The best bit about being part of the SWA netball was the whole experience, from the training to the games and all the extras that came with it, including fitness, skills and new friendships with the girls. It was easily the best decision I made whilst at Sam Whit and I’m so glad that I did it. The level of coaching Jo and Hayley gave helped me improve in so many more ways than I thought was possible and it was by far my most favourite year playing netball, it was just a shame it was cut short (Covid)! The girls I played and trained with each week made it even more enjoyable and everyone was so supportive and we were never far away from a laugh. The netball course also educated us more on other aspects of netball including nutrition and in the fun and creative way that we did it was a really good way of doing it.

 

Name: Ellis Kane
University: Loughborough University
Studying: Financial Management & Accountancy
Course Length: 4 years (including a placement year)
Goals after University: Qualify as an Accountant
Netball at School: Team Beds Regional U19's, SWA
Netball Post School: IMS netball at Loughborough (the social halls teams)

I loved being part of the netball programme at SWA, it really helped improve my play with access to great coaching, it also gave me a great opportunity to meet other people, I would definitely recommend to anyone coming up to SWA.

 

Name: Holly French
University: The University of Nottingham
Studying: Geography
Course Length: 3 years
Goals after University: Gain my master’s degree and focus my job seeking on environmental protection. Also, I hope to coach netball at local clubs.
Netball at School: Shefford NC, SWA,
Netball Post School: Uni of Nottingham’s BUCs netball squad after many trials due to the volume of girls. I was lucky enough to be selected along with 19 other girls, out of 250 freshers.

I absolutely loved my time in the netball program. It allowed me to build lifelong friendships with the nicest girls ever. This program was key in the development of my passion for netball as it ignited a flame to want to achieve more. During my short time in the program, my skills were developed massively by a team of amazing coaching staff. No matter the result from the games we played, we always stuck together as a team and that was key to my enjoyment of the program.

 

Name: Emma Moore
University: University of East Anglia
Studying: Developmental Psychology
Course Length: 4 years (3 at UEA, one abroad hopefully in Australia)
Goals after University: In the future, I am hoping to be able to help as many people as I can, but in what format I am not sure. I want to explore all the options my course gives me before deciding just yet!
Netball at School: Team Beds Regional U19's, SWA
Netball Post School: UEA Women’s 3's in the BUCS league as well as the local Norfolk league.

The netball program at SWA allowed me to continue to play netball at school at a high standard whilst keeping in check with my studies. Because the training sessions were timetabled into our weeks, we didn't have to miss out on any opportunities because of lessons so we could commit to both training and our studies We trained often with a variety of sessions from S&C, court sessions, yoga, ballet and nutrition sessions that educated us to be the best performers we could be. The coaches were always so encouraging and the standard of training was always intense so we improved massively. The achievements we gained as a team reflected the coaches with us reaching the SIS finals (before the pandemic cut this short) in just our first year of the program running. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at SWA and the netball program, so I would highly recommend it to anyone who has a passion for netball and wants to study at SWA!

 

Name: Robyn Moreno
University: University of East Anglia
Studying: Law with Criminology
Course Length: 3 years
Goals after University: Become a Solicitor
Netball at School: SWA
Netball Post School: UEA Women’s Netball Team

The programme taught me so much. I felt in the two years I was a part of it, I really grew as a player and gained the confidence to play netball at such a high standard. The group of girls that took the course were so lovely and we created a real bond as well as developing such a good relationship with the coaches who supported me, both with my netball and academically. The training pushed me as a player but evidently made me improve. I feel the Whitbread Netball Academy is a great opportunity and I can’t thank the team and coaches enough!