OUTSTANDING NETBALL CLUB 2020
WELCOME TO GRASSHOPPER NETBALL CLUB
In the 2020-21 season, our Club has been hit – like everyone else – by the severe sporting restrictions due to Covid-19. It is our intention to field five senior teams into the Leicester Netball League on Tuesday evenings, when it eventually restarts. The East Midlands Regional League was due to start in November 2020 outdoors at Ratcliffe College – but again that was postponed and we still await a start date for that. We have again entered two teams and they are kindly still being sponsored by Chaperone K9. |
We are currently having to train outside at New College, Glenfield Road, Leicester, LE3 6DN on Wednesdays from 7.30-8.30 pm and this has been for everyone and we have been using 2 courts. Due to Covid-19 and the fact that schools are not hiring out their venues at the moment, we have not had any outdoor Netball training since early November. However, we have provided two online fitness sessions per week – with a Netball ‘slant’ – Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7 pm and these will continue.
We affiliate to England Netball and have gained their CAPS Silver Award and Sport England Clubmark. Our junior teams usually train on Thursdays at Soar Valley, but when the Leicester Netball Youth League starts, the youth teams do not train, as Soar Valley is used for these competitive matches.
We affiliate to England Netball and have gained their CAPS Silver Award and Sport England Clubmark. Our junior teams usually train on Thursdays at Soar Valley, but when the Leicester Netball Youth League starts, the youth teams do not train, as Soar Valley is used for these competitive matches.
During this time, our youth players usually receive coaching and guidance in a competitive setting from the Head Coach and/or their Team Manager. However, once again, due to the Covid-19 situation and the fact that we had to cater for our senior players first, we have not yet started any youth coaching, but plans are afoot to restart this as soon as we can via online sessions in the first instance.
We are a very inclusive, friendly Club and we take players of all abilities and develop them holistically; for us it is not just about the netball skills – for us, the whole person is important and our players are offered whichever pathway is right for them. |
We are also very keen to look after the health and well-being of all our players too and our key personnel (and coaches) have received ‘MIND Mental Health in Sport‘ training. Therefore, if anyone is struggling in any way at all during this Covid-19 pandemic situation, please speak to one of our two Safeguarding Officers: Andy Scigliano or Kathy Cox,
or alternatively, since we are lucky enough to have our very own Mental Health First Aider - Steph Hiom – you can talk to her; she can be reached via our Contact Us section on the website, via email or via text. Club members will be able to find her! We also have two other Club members undergoing this really valuable training at the moment and their details will be published on here too, once they have successfully gained the qualification. In addition, please consider visiting the MIND website link: www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/ where lots of useful help sheets and fact sheets can be found.
or alternatively, since we are lucky enough to have our very own Mental Health First Aider - Steph Hiom – you can talk to her; she can be reached via our Contact Us section on the website, via email or via text. Club members will be able to find her! We also have two other Club members undergoing this really valuable training at the moment and their details will be published on here too, once they have successfully gained the qualification. In addition, please consider visiting the MIND website link: www.mind.org.uk/information-support/helplines/ where lots of useful help sheets and fact sheets can be found.
We are proud to announce that in 2019 and 2020, we won the East Midlands’ region Goalden Globe award for “Outstanding Netball Club” – an unprecedented achievement. Kathy Cox (a committee member) also won the ‘Mary Bullock’ award this year, but we were both unsuccessful at the recent national finals (December 2020). We have also been finalists in the Blaby District Council’s ‘Team of the Year’ award (2019) and the Leicester Mercury Sports Awards ‘Club of the Year’ category and received much recognition for our outstanding contribution to women’s sport locally. Congratulations and thanks must go to all our fabulous Club members and Committee members who play their part in us gaining these accolades. It is evidence that ‘the team works’!
|