By Zacharie Johnson-Pillon and Kristóf Iványi
A fresh chapter for USW netball has begun this term, with the players taking over responsibility for coaching.
Under the stewardship of various specialist coaches, positive results proved elusive on too many occasions.
So it’s all change this time around, and at a training session at the Sport Park second team captain Kelly Nicol underlined that the upcoming season would represent a new start in more ways than one.
And if the obvious cohesion on display in practice was any indicator, more success looks to be on the horizon.
Kelly said: “I think last year we struggled to keep the team morale high, as we had quite a few losses. We struggled to keep the team around.
“I hope we’ll be able to get more wins this time to keep spirits high.”
The team is looking very different to last year, with only half returners and the other half first years.
Given the new look of the set-up, Nichol emphasised that no lofty targets will be set: “I think we always aim for the top of the league, that’s the main goal, but if we manage to get the 3rd place this year the team would be satisfied.”
The team’s first game will be next Wednesday,November 9 (3:30pm) against Bath 2nds.
“They’re a tough team,” Kelly said, “so it will be interesting to see how we get on.”