NETBALL

Summary

The Summer term is the quietest term for netball, but players have enjoyed having the opportunity to continue training and have now started the summer programme ahead of preseason for the new academic year. I have personally enjoyed having some time to reflect on the year and to continue with future recruitment

ONE TO WATCH - PHOEBE MASLEN

Phoebe made her senior Super League debut for Team Bath during the VSNL season 2023 During the season Phoebe trained exceptionally well, earning herself a call up into Team Bath’s 12 player, game day squad. Playing in her second ever Super League game, and home debut, Phoebe was voted the Most Valued Player. Phoebe played a dominant role in Team Bath’s midcourt, getting her hand to so much ball, taking a total of 2 interceptions, 2 deflections and 2 turnovers She was a joy to watch

Bristol Su Sports Awards

We are super proud to have won the ‘Most Improved Club’ at the SU Awards As a club we have been working hard all season to embed a team culture, making sure we are a club that feels like a family from home, but also a place where players can push themselves and each other to do and be better We are delighted to have received recognition for this and will strive to continue to grow as a club.

Reds Awards

Along with 1st team Co-captains Connie Rutter and Lizzie McGechie, I enjoyed a wonderful night at the Reds Awards in June The night was full of inspiration and celebration, and was topped off with Connie receiving a Director’s Award, which was a pleasure to witness The award was truly deserved for the work she has done for the club, both on and off the court. Congratulations Connie, you will be sorely missed!

Looking Forward

All returning players have started their summer programme and are looking forward to pre-season starting at the end of August. With the 1st team playing in the hardest division next season, and other teams with promotion aspirations, it is key to return prepared. I am pleased the players are all pumped and keen to put in the hard yards ahead of what should be an exciting year.

Term 3 Review

For the first time, due to increased investment in staffing levels at the start of the year, we were able to provide a full S&C timetable for Term 3 This provided a great opportunity for students to develop physically without any matches to worry about, put in some good foundational work ahead of the year and provide a release as academics and exams started to build up

Of course, some clubs entered their season with competitions ramping up which we also supported and put the finishing touches on after a year of training in the gym This Term 3 was by far the most supported, attended, and impactful we have had in the last 6 years

Term 3 in numbers:

1574 attendances – our busiest term 3 by far!

170,000 reps completed!

8.7 million kg lifted.

22/23 SUMMARY

With the year now concluded, all final stats are in And in summary, we are now back to pre-COVID levels, which is a huge achievement, especially given this has been achieved through improving the efficiency of our programme, increasing attendance per session, which was a key aim ahead of the year

22/23 season in numbers:

14,000 attendances

1327 sessions across 40 weeks of the year

Average session attendance 10.6 people per session, up from 7 the year before 1 5million reps completed 47million kg lifted!

Its an understatement to say a lot of hard work has gone in over the course of the year by all involved!

We’ve seen huge improvements from students in the gym over the course of the year and despite some questionable music at times (no names mentioned), had a lot of fun along the way. The impact of this come match day, but also in student wellbeing and mental health, has been profound

WHAT'S NEXT

We are now in the thick of planning for the year ahead and excited to implement some key pieces going ahead We have invested further into staff support, and are in the process of recruiting for a full-time role. This will mean, for the first time in our history, we will have two full time S&C positions

Secondly, we have invested £15,000 into a team GPS system. This will allow us to analyse technical training so that we can understand the loads and intensities from this, and adjust accordingly if need, to maximise pitch time. These is a huge piece to add to our programme and I'm excited to see the impact play out

In parallel with the GPS system, we are adjusting and streamlining our S&C programmes to include sprint training in term time.

Its been an incredible year (again!) and I'm still in awe of the energy, passion and graft that goes in the gym week-in, week-out by our students wanting to improve. Our programme has also never been better, with our structure of support rivalling that of any university in the country, and a lot of professional sports teams!

I can't wait to see this all come together next year, but first: a well-earned break over the summer.

Thanks

Thanks again, on behalf of the S&C team, for all of your support in our programme

Will Ruscombe-King Lead Strength & Conditioning Coach