Sport In Profile UK Issue 07 | Page 42

hertfordshire MAVERICKS NETBALL Hertfordshire Mavericks FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/SPORT_IP netball club B ased at 1 Lunedale Close in Bedford, Hertfordshire Mavericks currently competes in the Netball Superleague. They are committed to helping England to develop top quality players, recognising that the success of the Superleague will play a crucial role in ensuring that this happens. With a focus on the development of players, coaches, umpires and staff they strive to give people the best possible environment to help them to progress. They state on www. mavericksnetball.co.uk that their mantra is to, ‘evolve players, engage with the community and entertain our fans.” With this approach they are able to make a significant contribution to the future of the game in England and the development of the Netball Superleague. It is this work that will help to establish England as the number one team in the world. This season their first team put together a strong league campaign as they compiled a record of eight wins and six defeats from their fourteen matches played. This saw them finish in 4th place in the table with 24 points on the board which was enough to qualify for a place in the end of season play-offs. This was a solid performance for the side and set up a tie with the undefeated league leaders, Manchester Thunder in the semi-final in front of a 4,100 strong crowd at the MEN Arena. Manchester Thunder had gone through the entire league season undefeated and so went into the match as strong favourites to come away with the victory. The Mavericks however had other ideas as they produced a brilliant display of Netball to emerge victorious by a final score of 48-41. This set up a Superleague Final match against rivals Surrey Storm who eventually proved too strong as they won by 56-39 at the Copperbox on Saturday 25th April. Although the Mavericks would obviously have liked to go on and claim the title upon reflection they have every right to be proud of what was a superb season. This should provide them with a strong platform from which to build during the offseason as they look to go one better next time around. This is not a club to focus solely upon their senior section however as they also have a fine youth set up in place. This part of the club looks to provide youngsters from the local area with an opportunity to play the game in a safe and enjoyable environment whilst helping them to reach their full potential. It is important for any club to be able to produce their own talent, particularly in the current financial climate and this is an area that they appear to have covered. It will certainly be exciting to see how their youngsters can progress in the coming years. There is much to admire about the superb set up that Hertfordshire Mavericks has in place and their success on the court over recent years speaks for itself. Hopefully they will be able to continue in the same manner for many years to come. 42 Issue 07 www.mavericksnetball.co.uk