Sophia makes Severn Stars Debut

King’s has now been a U17 Severn Stars NOVA Academy for four years, helping to prepare performance netball players for the franchise pathways that lie ahead. This weekend King’s was lucky enough to host the first Stars U17 netball match against the Welsh U17 team.

Sophia has been in the Severn Stars pathway for four years, starting in the NOVA at King’s and has this year progressed to the long squad for the U19s. As she is still age-eligible for the U17 squad she was selected from a group of 20 to attend this first match. Sophia has worked incredibly hard over the years and this has been her main goal and focus. On Saturday she made her debut at GA and then moved to WA to assist the shooting circle.

Sophia commented: “It was a fantastic opportunity and a great experience. The season is looking really promising and I am excited to see what the squad can do in future matches.”

The game was highly competitive and with combinations changing for every period, the squad had to work hard to adjust to the new line-up but also work with each other when transitioning. Although it was end-to-end action, Stars came away with their first win 70-64.

Emma McKenzie, Director of Netball at King’s said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for Sophia and one for which she has worked long and hard. As with all sports, it is tough at the top and performance netball is no different. Having a Severn Stars NOVA at King’s allows the players to be trained in a competitive environment week in, week out and Sophia utilised this opportunity extremely well.”

Emma is not only the Director of Sport at King’s but the Head Coach at the King’s NOVA and also currently the assistant coach for the U17 Stars squad.