Love Sport ?
Here ’ s how to make it your future career !
We have to have a chat with Captain of the Surrey Storms netball team , Georgia Lees , on what it takes to become a professional netball player …
Meeting up with Georgia in a coffee shop in her hometown was a bit strange . I expected her to come jogging into the shop in her tracksuit , ready to jet off to practice at a moment ’ s notice . I did not expect the stunning , tall girl sitting in her fashionable jeans and boots combo sipping on a full fat hot chocolate ( complete with marshmallows , we love her already ).
As we start to chat , I can immediately see how warm and friendly she is , and when we start to talk about netball and her career , I see her face light up . “ I started playing netball when I was 10 , in year six playing for the school team . I was always very tall as a child so I think I was always put into the netball team at school because of that . My mum and sister also used to play so I was very familiar with the sport growing up as a child .”
“ I play wing attack and my main role is to get free on a centre pass and feed the ball into the shooting circle to the goal shooter and goal attacker . I really enjoy playing WA as there is no added pressure on having to score goals but I still get to be an attacking player which is what I enjoy the most .”
“ I play wing attack and my main role is to get free on a centre pass and feed the ball into the shooting circle to the goal shooter and goal attacker . I really enjoy playing WA as there is no added pressure on having to score goals but I still get to be an attacking player which is what I enjoy the most .”
Growing up whilst playing netball was a bit tough , with some teachers and friends trying to tell Georgia it wasn ’ t worth it because they didn ’ t see netball as a career . However , Georgia always dismissed their comments and has gone on to prove them wrong . “ I remember at school most teachers apart from my PE teachers would encourage me to stop playing netball . There were times I would have to leave school early because I had to attend a training session one hour away from home or I was constantly tired during school lessons as I was trying to fit in my 10 hours of training for that week . My teachers would tell me it ’ s not worth it as there was such a small opportunity for me to make it as a professional athlete , but it ’ s what I wanted to do , so I ignored them .” Whateva loves determination , as not only has Georgia gone on to become a professional netball player , but has also managed to graduate from Brunel University and has a Master ’ s degree ! Who said girls can ’ t do it all ?!
But it wasn ’ t just the love of the sport that kept her going , it was the friendships and bond she made with her teammates , “ I think for girls in particular participating in a team sport is really good for self-confidence and body confidence . In a team sport where many different positions are required , such as netball , there is no one ideal body type for all positions and it makes it a “ safe ” environment for girls to feel like it ’ s okay to be different . I think growing up playing sport also is important for social behaviour and gives you the opportunity to interact with many different people . I ’ ve made so many lifelong friends from playing netball , and now I couldn ’ t imagine my day to day life without my teammates – we ’ re like a family .”
Success does not come without hard work . “ To get to the point where I am at now has taken many years of training , trials and knock backs . I was in school when I was first selected into the England set up . The training hours only increased when I was selected into higher-level teams . It takes a lot of sacrifice - I have missed countless birthday parties and family events to play important fixtures and attend training sessions . I now have to fit my training sessions around my full time job .”
Hours of hard work and training paid off for Georgia , as she now has plenty of awards under her belt , “ I have won European Championships with the England U19 team , as well as winning the netball Super League two times back to back .”
So , what advice can this huge netball star give our sports loving readers ? “ I would tell any girl looking to play professional sports to just stick with it . The professional world of sport can be very “ cut throat ” at times and for a teen being rejected from a team or training pathway at the time can be the end of the world . With training and a lot of hard work you can achieve anything you want to and be whateva you want to be !”