As Leeds Rhinos Netball mark the first week of being the official provider of the England Netball pathway for Yorkshire, they have announced a new key member of the coaching team.
Ahead of a weekend of trials where around 400 athletes will trial for places in the Rhinos top netball squad, Leeds Rhinos Netball have announced that Emily Perry will join their coaching team.
Emily is currently Head Pathway coach at Loughborough Lightning and England “Futures” Roses assistant head coach. She will join Leeds Rhinos Netball at the beginning of November and work alongside Director of Leeds Rhinos Netball, Anna Carter, as head coach of the Rhinos U19 Elite squad.
The Rhinos U19 Elite squad will be entered into the National Performance League along with other U19s teams from the Vitality Netball Superleague, such as Wasps, Manchester Thunder and London Pulse. Emily will work with Anna to develop Leeds Rhinos Netball as it aims to help professionalise the most popular female sport in the run up to a Home World Champs next July in Liverpool.
Anna Carter said: “We are delighted to welcome Emily to the team given the breadth and depth of her experience in the elite game, including in a national context. Emily led England U21s to a bronze medal at the World Youth Champs last year and has a wealth of practical and academic experience that will be great for our athletes. She joins a great team of coaches, including Maggie Birkinshaw and Paul Harper. We are so excited for the season ahead and working with these young talented athletes and finding more new talent.”
Bob Bowman, chief operating officer for the Leeds Rhinos Foundation, said: “It is great that Leeds Rhinos Netball is adding to its excellent coaching team with this appointment. Emily’s experience will be very valuable to the athletes and to developing the programme and learning from our rugby. We are really looking forward to using Leeds Rhinos Foundation’s links with schools to get more netball played in the city and beyond and to link netball to our women’s rugby Superleague.”
Leeds Rhinos Netball has trials for its top teams this weekend in U13, U15, U17, and U19. Trials are being held at Beckett University and almost 400 girls have applied for trials so it promises to be an exciting weekend with some difficult decisions for selectors. We hope it will be great for the programme though, with lots of athletes gaining access to more sport and good coaching opportunities.
Earlier this week, one of last year’s Leeds Rhinos Netball ambassadors, Georgia Pexton, was named in the England U19s Academy, along with two other athletes from Yorkshire – Alice Harvey and Annie James. We look forward to having more Rhinos in the England system over time, given the expertise and experience of our coaches at developing young talent.
For opportunities with Rhinos, such as Mini Netball or local training hubs, please visit the website http://www.leedsrhinosnetball.co.uk/news/