JUNE 2024 NEWSLETTER
| panthers_newsletter_-_june_24.pdf |
FEB 2024 NEWSLETTER
COACHING NEWSLETTER – FEB 2024
Dear Parents & Players,
It’s been a busy start to the 2024 netball season with so much going on at Panthers!
The start of the year saw us split the location of our training with the U9-11 training at our new
venue at St Nicholas School, and U12-16 remaining at All Hallows. This split in venues means we can
offer better court access & time across all age groups, as well as allowing us to further expand the
club to meet all of our exciting plans for the future!
This growth started with our trials in January, the local advertisement saw us welcome 22 trialist
over all age groups - predominantly in our U11 age groups and below!
COACHING UPDATE
Following the resignation of our Head Coach in Dec 2023, Sarah Seddon has taken on the role of
Interim Head Coach. We hope that you have seen our adverts on social media for recruiting new
coaches to join our coaching team to support with our planned growth & expansion.
If coaching is something you think you may be interested in doing - or you know someone who is
already a qualified coach looking for a new opportunity, please let us know as we are happy to have
a chat with anyone who wants to know more.
Your coaching team is made up of Head Coach, Level 2 Coaches, Assistant Coaches and Junior
Coaches. Have a sneaky peak at the coaching bios attached with this newsletter for more
information about who we are, who we play for, what positions we play - and just why we love
coaching!
We have been busy as a coaching team over the last couple of weeks finalising plans for the
remainder of the season as well as looking ahead already to the 24/25 season.
We have been working on the players matrix and will be looking to provide team summaries over
the coming weeks - and can also provide individual player feedback for those who want it.
In addition, we have entered All teams back into Wavell meaning even more game play for all
players, the feedback so far has been very positive on this change, and we are seeing some great
results from teams! But most importantly plenty of smiles and friendships - which is what it’s all
about!
For those who are not avid netball fans (do such people exists???) the new Vitality Super League
starts on Saturday 17th Feb, with Sky covering the opening day so for those with Sky TV the girls will
be able to watch games – or via sky YouTube channel! Many of the games through the season are
available to watch on YouTube or Sky and I would encourage the girls to watch as many games as
possible as it’s a great way to see some of the skills we are trying to teach them in practice! As a
coaching team - we have put together some thoughts on who to watch by position for those who
want to get top tips from some talented players!
GK - Geva Mentor (Leeds Rhino) Ras Quashie (Saracen Mavericks) and Jada Pechova (Bath)
GD - Funmi Fadoju (London Pulse); Jodie Gibson (Mavericks); Vicki Oyesola (Mavericks)
WD - Amy Flannagan (Surrey Storm) Zara Everitt (London Pulse); Shadine van der Maerwe
(Manchester Thunder)
C - Imogen Allison (Bath); Amy Carter (Manchester Thunder); Nat Panagarry (Loughborough
Lightning)
WA - Alicia Scholes (London Pulse); Nat Metcalf (Manchester Thunder)
GA - Berri Neal (London Pulse); Nichole Taljaard (London Pulse); Rhea Dixon (Loughborough
lightening)
GS - Mary Cholhok (Loughborough Lightning); Ella Clarke (Loughborough Lightning); Liv Tchine
(London Pulse)
TRAINING
Reminder – for player improvement and team continuity it is so important that players attend all
training sessions. Please make every effort to attend each session. We appreciate life sometimes
gets in the way so please update Pitchero ASAP if you cannot attend so coaches can plan sessions
accordingly.
Performance Training – Thursdays is performance training, and this is set to focus on team strategy,
set plays and specific skills. Since Sept 23 the cost of the additional training has been absorbed by
the club but from the Summer Term there will be a charge per performance player – more details to
follow.
HOME GROWN TALENT – UMPIRING
We are proud as a club that we can continue to support and develop our own home-grown talent
with the Panthers Juniors Umpiring Pathway.
You can start your umpiring pathway with England netball from your 13th birthday and you would
start with the INTO Officiating qualification.
As well as financial support from the club, we are very lucky to have Carley Lear from Panthers
Adults who mentors our trainees on a Thursday night, and then the Wavell league provide
mentoring on a Tuesday night to help support and guide the girls through their practical assessment.
It is a great life skill as it something they can continue through schooling/college and even university.
As a trainee they are paid £7.50 per game, and once they have passed that goes to £10.00 per game,
so a great way to earn pocket money!
CONGRATULATIONS to Amelia Lester (U14 Performance Team) who passed her ‘Into Officiating’
umpire course in January 2024!
We also have 4 other juniors currently working towards the INTO qualification: Kayleigh Haines (U14
Performance Team), Isla Groom (U14 Performance Team), Annie Windows (U15 Performance Team)
and Ellen Bawn (U15 Performance Team).
Now Amelia has turned 14 - maybe she will progress to her C award????
We will be running an “Introduction to Umpiring” session on Monday 11th March at All Hallows 7.30-
9pm with Carley Lear for anyone who would like to understand umpiring a little bit more - and
practice some of the skills! (Parents also welcome!)
MASTERCLASSES
Back by popular demand after the huge success of our Dec 2023 Masterclass, we have secured two
new dates with Sasha and Kadeen Corbin! The club helps to run these sessions by subsidising the
costs and reinvesting to ensure we are providing lots of great opportunities for the girls!
Sasha and Kadeen have over 140 Caps for England between them, have been to the Commonwealth
Games and also recently represented Barbados at the 2023 World Cup! Sasha also captained
Saracen Mavericks for over 10 years, having just retired from International and Super League netball.
Kadeen currently plays for Bath in the Vitality Super League and is also a Technical Coach for them.
The sessions will again be run at Yateley School, indoors, Sunday 14th April & Sunday 5th May and
they are just £15 per player per session. There are 3 different session times depending upon age
groups; and then a 4th session is being run for adults which are £20.
If you haven’t already booked a space - hurry and book now as spaces are limited per session! If you
are a parent that plays - please feel free to book on too!
https://forms.office.com/e/4jhh2gy2pH
SUMMER TOURNAMENTS
We are lucky enough to be taking part in loads of tournaments this summer, both locally at Wavell,
and further afield in Basingstoke, Southampton and even London!
The purpose of these tournaments is to provide friendly but competitive match play for our players,
to give teams the opportunity to move players around and try out new combinations, and to be part
of the wider netball community. In addition, for our Performance Teams they are great preparation
for Regional and Hampshire League games.
We are proud as a club of how many of these opportunities we can support ensuring we have
coaches and umpires available, and we will be looking to also host a further Panthers fun charity
tournament to round off the summer - watch this space!
CLUB AWARDS DAY
For the first time in our club history, we have taken the decision to hold a club awards
ceremony/family fun day at the end of the season. The date for your diary is Sunday 7th July with the
event being held from 12:00pm – 18:00pm.
It will be for players and their families, and we would love as many to attend as possible.
We will be looking to subsidise a significant amount of the event as we are keen to ensure the
inaugural event is a huge success however there will be a small price per ticket! We will shortly be
sending out details on how to get tickets!
As well as recognising and awarding players across the age groups with awards chosen by coaches -
and players alike (as well as a few funny ones...) we want to ensure that the event is a fun one for
players families and siblings. The event will be held at Farnham Rugby Club (Wilkinson Way,
Monkton Lane, Farnham GU9 9ND) - which has a bar (that we sadly won't be subsiding 😊).
If you would like to be involved in helping at this event or run a business that would like to sponsor
or have a skill that could help, make this event a success - please let me know!
DIARY DATES
We thought with so much going on, we would recap what's on and when. This may help get
organised and we appreciate juggling all of these things with normal life can be hectic so see below
for what's happening!
• Strength and Conditioning Session - 14th Feb hosted at Advance Performance in Guildford
• Introduction to Umpiring - Monday 11th March (All Hallows)
• Masterclasses with Sasha and Kadeen- 14th April and 5th May (Yateley School)
• Hatch Warren Tiger Tournament- Russell Howard Sports Park- 28th April
• London Pulse U14 Tournament- 21st April
• Rushmoor Tournament @ Wavell
o 11th May – U11’s, U12’s & U13’s
o 12th May – U14’s, U15’s & U16’s.
• Surrey Storm V Severn Stars VSL Home Game – 18th May - Surrey Sports Park – 16 players
from the U9-10 squads are going with coaches!
• Western Park Blades Tournament:
o 25th May – U11’s, U12’s & U13’s
o 26th May – U14’s &U15’s
• Dreams Tournament
o 1st June – U11’s, U12’s & U13’s
o 2nd June – U14’s &U15’s
• Club End of Season Award night - Save the date - Sunday 7th July 24
WE NEED YOU!
We have SO many plans for Panthers, but need support from YOU to make it all happen! If you want
to be part of these amazing plans and have a voice on the direction of our amazing club - we want to
hear from you! Roles available include:
• VENUE COORDINATOR – booking training venues.
• TOURNAMENTS COORDINATOR – booking and co-ordinating tournament entries plus
supporting the organisation for any Panthers own fun tournaments.
• TREASURER – manage and coordinator all club finances (training will be available).
• WEBSITE & COMMS COORDINATOR – To write newsletters like THIS!
Many of these jobs could be done on a job share basis, so if you are interested and want to buddy up
with someone, please let us know!
NEW PLAYERS
We are still looking to recruit new players - especially in the U9-U13 age groups - please share the
attached with friends, family, and any school networks!
THANK YOU
Finally, a thank you from me and all your coaching team. We are really excited about where
Panthers Netball Club is going, and we are so pleased you are part of this journey.
See you on Court! 😊
Sarah Seddon (Interim Head Coach)
ADULT NETBALL
Did you play netball years ago? Do you watch your daughter play and wish you could join in? Do you want to improve your fitness and be part of a fun and happy team? Then join one of our adult teams!
