A netball coach who has guided four English women to achieve international honours has said the sport really is something for everyone.
Speaking to the Birmingham Mail, Joan Hunter reflected on her 35 years of coaching in the city after being named one of the Birmingham 2022 Hometown Heroes ahead of the Commonwealth Games.
Joan, who was born in Jamaica but grew up in the city, has coached local teams Harborne and Sutton Comets before taking up her current position at the University of Birmingham Netball Club.
Discussing her early involvement with the sport, she remarked “I started with athletics at Birchfield which is an individual sport, then I stumbled upon Netball and I liked the team camaraderie. We felt like a family.”
This team focus and the social benefits it brings are something Joan is happy to emphasise. Emphasising that “netball is for everyone”, she noted that the ladies she coaches include a Sri Lankan in her 60s who had been denied the chance to play for cultural reasons when she was younger.
While the focus will be on Birmingham as England’s women attempt to defend the gold medal they won in 2018, there are opportunities to take up the sport everywhere, with Manchester netball classes available now.
Fans will certainly be able to enjoy a great build-up to the Games as the domestic season approaches its climax.
England Netball has announced the start of ticket sales for the Vitality Superleague Grand Final, which will take place on the weekend of June 3rd-5th.
It will see the top four teams from the regular season going head-to-head in two semi-finals, before a match to decide third and fourth pace and then the final itself.
Below senior level, the National Performance League has just concluded its own season, with Manchester Thunder showing what talent the city has by emerging as winners of the under 17, under 19 and under 21 competitions.