NTL Half Term Blog

Day 1

A tough few days of netball started with the three day NTL camp. The intensity began with the horrific “yo yo” test, a good way to start the camp…..NOT!! The video analysis of our Celtic Dragons match gave us all a great insight of what we needed to work on together with the excellent skills we already possess! Next up, Strength & Conditioning in the gym, with already tired legs, we pumped out those weights like we were professional weightlifters. The hilarious Chris kept us motivated with his nicknames, aimed at Becky, “clown”! The day was long, as we had an insight of what was to come over the next couple of days.

Day 2

The welcome of hyperactive, little cheerful children lifted the mood on Day 2 as we moved from Wright Robinson to Stockport Ball Hall where the Thunder Camp was running. The presence of Tracey definitely had an impact on the effort all the girls put in as she always had her beady eyes on us, waiting for any mistakes to appear! After a morning of hard work on attack & defence the lunchtime break working with the Thunder Camp was a welcome break. The question & answer session was amusing as the children were interested to know what animals we preferred, we obviously said, our favourite bear, “Thunder Bear”. The end of the day couldn’t have finished better with forfeits set by our loving team mates!!

Day 3

The presence of Georgie Webster, Eleanor Cardwell & Alice Travis meant the full Thunder NTL squad were reunited! The first session was to be with Karen Greig and when the word “fitness” was mentioned the day looked bleak, as if we hadn’t done enough already!!! But the mood improved as Thunder Bear arrived and although he scored two goals, he really needs a session with our NTL shooters to show him how it’s done!
Sky Sports arrived to do some filming for footage before the Surrey Storm match and decided to start filming when we were practising with our weaker hand, as if it wasn’t difficult enough the camera increased the pressure! Although some of the girls pretended to be camera shy and hide away from the limelight I’m sure we’ll all be tuning into Sky Sports to see if we made it on!
Once again a Question & Answer session was in order with the Thunder Campers followed by fun training which we organised including “hot potato” and “splat”, great games!!

Finally the last day of the camp was near an end, a lot of tired legs and also arms for Georgie & Alice who took on the difficult task of boxing. Alice constantly repeating how “hench” she was and how large her biceps are – she wishes!! The finish of match play put forward a lot of possible combinations for the following match against Northumbria, all in all a successful three day camp!

Match Day

Time for Black & Yellow to shine! The Manchester based girls started the coach from Oldham at 11, with an unusual stop at Preston and Carlisle along the way, highlighting how much distance some of the Thunder girls have to travel to training each week! The three & half hour journey was a chance for tired legs to rest and entertainment to be enjoyed. With plenty of food fuelling the excitement the entertainment arrived as the budding singers shone. Eleanor, Liv & Beccy could be the next Sugarbabes as their vocals were top notch! Finally arriving at Newcastle, the changing room dilemma began, public changing rooms here we come.

The warm up included a guest appearance from Georgie, following the nod from the Thunder physio, and the playing of our song “Go hard or go home” by request from Team Manager Phil Thomas! However, a slow start to the game meant the girls had to play catch up. But sooner rather than later our game took a turn in the right direction as we took the lead. A gruelling team talk was much needed as Gabs Towell reminded us of the task & the need to refocus.

We did just that as the defence of Gabby, Liv, Becky Airey & Eleanor turned ball & the Alice & Courtney were on fire in the shooting circle. We eventually pulled away as the lead became harder for Team Northumbria to get back. The Blackpool lass Rachel Towell played superb for her first NTL league game and fed the circle with ease.

Our third quarter was the highlight as Gabby Marshall, moving to Centre, was on fire, scooping interceptions from mid air & working well with Beccy who was creating space to receive the centre pass with ease. Thunder’s attacking tactics forced many errors from Northumbria and the new arrivals of Rebekah Aspin & Sophie Jones, both making their league debuts, showed their ability by taking many interceptions and transitioning the ball with accuracy through to attack. The attack successfully delivered the ball to the shooters to put the game out of Team Northumbria’s reach. An injury time out called by the opposition presented the opportunity to introduce “inspector gadget” Helen Housby to GS and she made the switch with Alice seamless for the team.

The fourth quarter gave us many highlights as the team were working together as true Northerners. The quarter time team talk reminded the team that the duration of the game was 60 minutes and we needed to work hard until the final whistle and this spurred us on to “go hard or go home”. Harriet returned to Centre & linked the attack and defence well. The commitment by Captain Cardwell to stop the ball going out of court created many laughs as Eleanor piled on top of Gabs & Phil, but a huge shove got her back on court!
The absence of Paul made the squad even more determined to win the game convincingly. Final score 57-27

By Eleanor Cardwell & Olivia Jarvis

Starting Line Up GK– Rebekah Airey, GD - Eleanor Cardwell, WD- Olivia Jarvis, C - Harriet Gill, WA-Beccy Hoult, GA - Courtney Savage, GS - Alice Travis. Subs Gabby Marshall (Q2, 3 & 4) Rachel Towel (Q2), Rebekah Aspin (Q3) Sophie Jones (Q3 & 4) Helen Housby (Q3 & 4)

Assistant Coach Gabrielle Towell commented: The Thunder girls have been magnificent today. After three gruelling days of training their commitment to the bringing home a Thunder win was never in doubt. The encouragement from the bench in every quarter, including Georgie Webster who is making good progress from her ankle injury, was fantastic. It was particularly pleasing that everyone got court time, including NTL league debuts for Sophie, Rebekah & Rachel. A huge thank you to Phil for his organisation and support on the day and to the NTL parents for travelling up to the North East. The mentoring from Paul & Tracey during the season and particularly in the week leading up to the game eased me into the role of Head Coach for the day.