Mintridge Bronze Programme at Crusaders Netball Club with Saracens Mavericks Superstar Georgia Lees.

Team Mintridge had a wonderful day with the players from Crusaders Netball Club, as they took part in a fun filled netball masterclass and morning of coaching sessions with the incredible Georgia Lees.

Recent statistics from England Netball suggest that since the start of the COVID19 pandemic, 25% of people say their confidence and self-esteem has reduced throughout the pandemic and a strong theme was shared around lack of social connectivity with their friends on the court. Team Mintridge had the perfect solution for this, and delivered the amazing Georgia Lees to Liverpool for a morning of netball with this wonderful netball club.

After an initial warm up, Georgia worked on spacing and on court synchrony between players, especially in the attacking third. As Georgia plays WA herself for Saracens Mavericks, she was the perfect person to share her elite top tips to the players from Crusaders. Georgia led multiple drills working in small team bubbles, focusing on their communication and movement around the court. From this, the players from Crusaders then put this into a competitive game situation, adding in some defenders to put their skills to the test!

Georgia continued these sessions highlighting the importance of hitting the top of the circle edge to deliver a fast and strong ball into the shooting circle.

Throughout the day, Georgia walked around each court and spoke to every player, giving them constructive criticism on what they can work on. The players really took on board Georgia’s knowledge and realised how it efficiently impacted their style of play. After lots of practise it was time for the players to show off what they had learnt through match play games.

During the match play, Georgia stopped and started the games to allow the players to stop and think about what they could improve on and to make them think about their next move, in relation to who is near them on the court. This really helped the players as it enabled them to really think about their spacing and communication on court.

Towards the end of this wonderful Bronze Programme, one of the players asked if Georgia could fire one of her “power” balls to her to see if she could catch it, which she did! The players from Crusaders were thrilled to have Georgia at their club and loved taking socially distanced photographs with her at the end. Georgia even had the privilege of signing some of their netball dresses.

We are really grateful that we were able to visit Crusaders Netball Club today, as we all know how important sport is for both your mental and physical well being on and off the court. Thank you to the coaches from Crusaders for your support in helping to organise this fantastic programme, we hope we can visit again soon!

If you are interested in a virtual or physical Programme with Georgia Lees or any of our other inspirational Ambassadors, then please get in touch via the Mintridge website at www.mintridgefoundation.org.uk or with Katie at katie@mintridge.org.uk.

The Mintridge Foundation is a registered charity dedicated to enhancing life skills in young people through sport. We provide a support network for young people by harnessing the power of positive sporting role models. The Mintridge Foundation assists young people of all ages, abilities, and physical capabilities to develop confidence and resilience, and creates awareness of the importance of mental and physical wellbeing through sport.

Our team of Ambassadors - Olympians, Paralympians and other professional sports stars from over 20 sports, both team and individual - work with young people in schools, clubs and academies across the UK. Starting with visits including assemblies, coaching clinics and classroom sessions tailored to each organisation’s requirements, our ambassadors can then provide one- on- one remote mentoring in a safeguarded environment, delivered via technology such as FitSwarm and Playwaze to build a lasting legacy for individuals.

The Mintridge Foundation’s successes demonstrate the incredible power of sport; from a mentee’s selection to represent Great Britain in their chosen field to enabling disabled children to find confidence and happiness just through participation. Understanding life after sport, we also support our Ambassadors in their transition from active sport to the next stage of their careers.

To find out more about the Mintridge Foundation, please contact Alex Wallace.

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