Another eagerly anticipated season awaits the UEL Sports Teams, especially the UEL Netball Club, who are hoping for their first league triumph since 2016. This came courtesy of the Third Team, who won the South Eastern 11A division, with the First Team’s last league triumph in 2015. However former UEL Netball Player and current Sports Club Development Officer, Ellie Clark, reckons that this season could be the year that the Club end their trophy drought.
New Faces
Speaking at a Sports Scholarship press conference at the Sports Dock ahead of the Netball Club’s opening BUCS league fixtures, Clark expressed her excitement for the Netball Teams’ upcoming season, given the increase in participation this year.
“This year we are entering three teams for netball, and at the turn-outs last week we had over 36 girls. There are only seven on the court, so actually despite 36 sounding like only a small number compared to other sports like basketball, when looking in terms of numbers and position-wise, it is a really good turn-out,” Clark said.
Gulf in Class
The Club have recruited well and given the increase in the number of participants this year, thought it was necessary to recruit a new coach in Sophia Sefton, a netball scholar at Brunel University, who will manage the First Team, alongside last season’s coach Lauren Leac who is set to coach the Second and Third Teams. Clark believes it was important to appoint an additional coach for the club due to the difference in quality between the First team and the Second and Third sides.
“This year is the first year we have actually had two coaches as well. So now we have two, the head coach, who will just be focusing on the First Team because they are at such a higher level compared to the Second and Third Team, and then we have Lauren, who was the previous coach last year, she is focusing on the Seconds and the Thirds. So in terms of development, I think it is going to be a good year for us,” Clark said.
Adjustment Period
Of their three opening league fixtures, only the Second Team were victorious – with a dominant 37-12 away win against Writtle College Women’s First Team. UEL Netball’s First Team were narrowly defeated 25-22 away against St. George’s University of London’s Second Team, while the Third Team, coached by the deputising Clark, lost 30-25 at home to Queen Mary University of London’s Seventh Team. Nevertheless, given the club just trained together for the first time on Tuesday, and the narrow margin of defeats, one can only expect the results to improve over the course of the season.
