Netball pre-season training with Steph Collard

Yesterday we welcomed Steph Collard, current 1st team player for Saracens Mavericks and 1st team coach for MK Netters, to Swanbourne for pre-season training with the 7s-TY.

As well as student pre-season training, Steph delivered an hour long CPD session for members of the Sports Department to develop their warm up techniques and to learn some new drills and practices. 

“This term is really about profiling Netball and ensuring that the girls continue to further develop their performance during the lessons so that they feel fully equipped and prepared for most of the situations that they will come up against during their competitive matches.

We are grateful to have an expert and highly knowledgeable practitioner such as Steph Collard, to come into Swanbourne House School and deliver such interactive and dynamic training practices. She is a true inspiration to young aspiring athletes and is also a great role model and ambassador for the sport of Netball.”                                        Miss Levermore, Sport

The 7s and 8s were very excited to have a new coach for the day. Their session was focused on using the space on the pitch in the most effective way and how to pass without giving your opponent the opportunity to intercept. Afterwards the girls practised what they had learnt in small games. 

After watching the 9s and 10s girls play their first small games, Steph decided that they would benefit from playing in silence as the games were quite disorganised and the shouting was confusing. At the end of their silent games the girls’ reflected on what this had taught them; that you can still play as a team without the need for shouting and loud play, being quieter can often allow you to make a more informed decision about where to pass or move without distractions on the pitch. 

“It was such a pleasure to come to Swanbourne House school and meet some of the lovely staff and pupils as part of their pre-season netball. It was wonderful to see the enthusiasm of all the girls and the application of everything they were being asked to do.

Seeing the enjoyment of the 7s as they gained their first experience of netball and the work that the 8s were doing on delivering strong passes and retaining possession was really exciting. The 9s and 10s worked hard on getting free from their defenders and showed we don’t need to use voices to show we are free! The Top Year showed some excellent work on retaining possession and then taking the ball through to the goal; focusing on court balance and roles and responsibilities of each position.

I look forward to hopefully being able to return at some time in the future!” Steph Collard, 1st team player for Saracens Mavericks and 1st team coach for MK Netters

The 11s and TY had a brilliant Q&A with Steph after their session asking questions about training programmes, how often training is and when she started playing Netball. You can watch the Q&A here.