Welcome back to our news segment of Swannie Spotlight, we hope you enjoy meeting our latest Swannie in the Spotlight! Everyone please meet and say hello to Clara! Thank you very much Clara for participating in this part of our Swan news.

What are your playing positions?
GA and GS

What is your netballing background?
I first started netball at school at the age of 7 and instantly fell in love with it. When I was 9, my teacher recommended that I start playing outside of school, I played for two different clubs before coming to Swan when I was 14 years old, which was the best move I’ve made in my netball life. Firstly, I joined U15 Sapphires and developed into the U16 South Regional Team the next year. Being part of a team that won the South Regional Division 2 League was a highlight of my netball career. After this, I went up to the Swan Hants 2 team until I developed into my current team – U19 Diamonds. I’ve also represented Swan at PONTINS and at Disneyland Paris in 2018, where we came runners up in the U16 Showdown Cup. My netballing background also stretches to coaching, I am now in my second year of being an Assistant Coach to the U10/U11 team.

Who is your inspiration?
My inspiration will always be Helen Housby, being the same position as me, I’ve always looked up to her and scoring the winning goal in the 2018 Commonwealth Games was a highlight to watch.

What other sports or activities do you do?
Other than netball, I’ve played hockey both in and outside of school. Also, I play badminton, rounders and cricket in school.

How did you get into coaching?
I helped volunteer both in school and at club for my DofE, during this I really started to enjoy it and was interested in this different side to netball rather than just playing. When in the U16 Regional team, Jackie really motivated me to complete my Level 1 Coaching Course, so I was mentored by Zoe, where I helped to coach the U10s. I now assist Jackie and Jenny in coaching the U11s and I thoroughly enjoy it.

How did you find the UKCC Level 1 coaching course?
I was the youngest on the course at 16 years old but I did really enjoy it and it certainly was a chance to develop my knowledge of netball and my coaching skills. Over the two days, I learnt the basic skills of a coach and took part in leadership practice as well as planning out training sessions. The actual assessment on the final day was slightly intimidating, as been judged on your coaching was a new experience to me, but it was all part of the learning process which I’m happy and proud to say got me qualified for Level 1 - I look forward to taking my Level 2 when I turn 18.

What do you most enjoy about Swan Netball Club?
I’d have to say that the best part of Swan Netball Club is the friendly coaches and players, they make netball fun and welcoming, but also competitive and high-quality at the same time. Swan Netball Club has been extremely supportive over the last few years and I look forward to my final year before going off to university and hopefully getting into a high team.