Jayda Pechová is a rising star of English netball, having already captained the U19 team to take a gold medal at the Netball Europe event. Now, the 18-year-old has been shortlisted for the prestigious SportAid’s One to Watch Award for 2022, England Netball reports.
Jayda has made the final 10 of a longlist of 1,000 young athletes across 60 different sports. The annual award is designed to celebrate the achievements of Britain’s most promising young athletes. Previous winners include Tom Daly, Hollie Arnold, and Courtney Tulloch.
Jayda, from Fleet, Hampshire, is currently studying at the University of Bath and will be playing for Team Bath, after making it through to the Roses Futures programme. She has shown grit and determination to get where she is, by overcoming two selection rejections in the previous year.
Commenting after hearing the news, Jayda said: “I was so shocked. I didn’t even expect it. I feel like I’ve had a great journey this year but I’ve never put it in perspective and being nominated made me realise how much I’ve achieved. It’s really exciting to know I’m going to be up alongside those kind of athletes in the future. I’m really proud.”
She added: “For me, this year has been about pushing through,” she said. “When I didn’t get in the first two times, I was on such a low, I didn’t think there was any point in trying. Those setbacks make you so much better. If you don’t get what you want the first time, there’s nothing you can change, you’ve just got to work harder.”
Jayda’s biggest stumbling block was her fitness, she explained to Yahoo News. However, she doubled down on her efforts, and has seen fantastic results. She has also had the chance to train with more experienced players, which she says has boosted her progress and made her a much more confident player.
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