NUNC brimming with Fresh Talent ahead of Varsity Clash

Published on 8^th March 2010 in Lead articles, Netball, Varsity.

Now I confess I was bit of a fiend on the Netball court in my youth, but both my enthusiasm and my talent waned enormously in my teenage years and the last time I stepped on a netball court I was knee-high to a grasshopper. So if nothing else, heading down to watch the Nottingham University Netball 1st Team training last week was a nostalgic experience. Distant memories of stepping onto the court proudly clad in my Goal Attack bib and nonexistent gym shorts came flooding back to me (in all seriousness what were my parents thinking sending me to a school in which it was compulsory to prance around sports pitches from the age of 7 in little more than spandex knickers?). But anyway, enough about my bizarre sports attire, back to the task in hand…The girls intense training routine was impressive, beginning with a half an hour reflective chat on the balcony before endless, fast-paced drills which look nothing short of artistic with their perfectly timed leaps and catches.

Ahead of the highlight of their season, the team are clearly hugely focussed on the task in hand. Impact had to push our luck to steal even five minutes of their training time to conduct our interviews and this hard work has evidently paid off in their results. The first team currently sit third in their league, behind Loughborough 2nds and 3rds, which is no small feat in itself. Furthermore, Trent 1sts will now be relegated from the same league after finishing 6th, having won only one match all season. Captain, Charlotte Cousins is keen to point out that UoN have been on top form this season; “All five teams in the club have found success and an influx of new talent from Freshers has left the first team in a very strong position. The thirds and fifths are both in the play offs for promotion whilst the first team finished a very respectable third in their league.”

Although unlikely to be the biggest crowd-drawer, the Netball Varsity promises to be a closely fought battle given the teams’ past records. Although Trent have walked away victorious from the previous two Varsity encounters, they must surely enter this fixture the underdogs having been comfortably beaten by their arch rivals twice this season.
The key to the team’s success is largely down to a brand new shooting circle who have all demonstrated impressive statistics and can always be relied upon to put the team ahead. Jen Catlow, Taryn Belcher Brown and Georgia Rule, all three of whom are Freshers, have injected a vital consistency into the team’s game plan. This fresh outlook coupled with experience in the centre court from NUNC old-timers Anna Cousins, Emily Staite and captain Charlotte Cousins, who reluctantly admits that this will be her fourth varsity.

Uni’s defence will see a return to the stage for Goal Keeper Dani McColl, who missed out on varsity last year, after an unfortunate injury she picked up in the warm-up, just minutes before the starting whistle. She will no doubt prepare a little more tentatively prior to this year’s match in an effort to ensure she can take her well-earned place on the court. Rachel Bird, another Fresher will join her in defence, a reliable player and evidently something of a livewire with her high rate of turnovers. She is clearly not afraid to throw herself into the game for the sake of a win, judging from the amount of time she spends on the floor… (I’m told by her fellow team mate that she falls over impressively frequently!) Diane Iyaya who came from Durham this year completes their defence line-up, bringing a massive vertical jump to diminish Trent’s hopes of scoring.

The team are evidently exuding confidence going into the match so we can only hope confidence won’t turn into complacency on the day. Head down to the Clifton Sports Centre this Wednesday afternoon to give them some extra support which could nudge UoN into a comfortable 4-1 lead in the series.

Hattie Hamilton