Netball France is delighted to announce the commencement of a netball development Hub, in conjunction with VNSL franchise London Pulse, to be launched in Paris from October 2021. French based athletes will go through a formal selection process, with trials set to be held on the weekend of the 9th/10th October, and the official program starting the week beginning 25th October. Final dates for trials and the start of the Hub to be confirmed.
The athletes will be coached in line with the program set by London Pulse in the UK, following along with Pulse’s 16 London based hubs, and will be given a chance to experience regular performance coaching in line with the London Pulse values of diversity and inclusion.
Bethany Lord, President of Netball France, says “We are delighted to partner with London Pulse to launch the first ever development hub in France. Providing performance coaching to our athletes is crucial to the growth of our sport, and marks the first stage in the development of Netball France’s player pathway. Driven by our shared values of diversity and inclusion, we are incredibly grateful for London Pulse’s support and their continued passion in helping to grow the game not just in London or England, but throughout the Europe region. The expertise they are able to provide is invaluable, and we look forward to continuing to work with them to grow the sport of netball in France.”
Sam Bird, CEO, London Pulse, had this to say: “This is a project that we have been working on with Netball France for several months. The Netball France team have already done a fantastic job launching the sport into France and we are delighted to partner with them to take this next step. We share a passion for bringing netball to new players and to then help those showing a talent for the game to be given performance training on a par with that delivered in the UK. I’m grateful to the team on the ground for working in partnership with us to enable this to happen and look forward to help grow our sport in France.”
Selected athletes will also have access to the London Pulse online Educate, Train, Inspire Programme, which all London Pulse pathway athletes benefit from. There will also be the opportunity for match-play with the London Pulse UK Hubs, and potential tours between the two countries.
The program is targeted at athletes aged 13-19, with space for approximately 20 athletes to be selected. It will run for approximately 21 weeks. This is an incredible opportunity for France’s junior athletes, and we can’t wait to see their progress over the duration of the program!
In addition to the Hub announcement, Netball France is excited to confirm that London Pulse defender & England Roses Futures athlete, Zara Everitt, will be attending Netball France’s inaugural Coupe de France de Netball in Paris on Saturday 25th September, and leading the Netball Taster Day on Sunday 26th September.
All updates in regards to the Hub, including date confirmations for the trials & start of the program, coach announcements, player announcements, etc., will be shared across Netball France social media, as well as emailed directly to all Netball France member clubs. If you have any questions regarding the program, or are an interested athlete who is not part of a member club, you can email contact@netballfrance.com.