THE NET ACADEMY PATHWAY

It’s not about who you are now, but who you can be!

The NET ACADEMY pathway is designed to help players to reach the next level of their game in a demanding yet supportive environment in which all athletes can feel confident and supported to try new things, adapt, learn and grow.

In order to achieve this, we provide a two step pathway for our athletes; the U12 development academy and the U16 performance academy. Each follows a structured programme to help players to develop their fundamental skills, technical understanding of the game, speed, strength and fitness appropriate to their age and stage of development. 

We do not trial for our academy spaces as we believe that all players should be given the opportunity to succeed and develop however we do ask that all athletes are part of a netball club in order to help ensure the quality of players and a baseline understanding of the skills and rules needed for the game. 

U12 Development Academy 

Open to ages 9-12 this is the first step in our pathway for young athletes looking to excel in the game. 

We recognise that at this age players are perhaps preparing for their first formal trial experiences at county and franchise level and will be expected to be able to showcase competency in a number of skills both in isolation, in game based practices and on the court.

Within the U12 programme athletes will learn to train to develop. By the end of the programme our athletes will be able to:

U16 Performance Academy 

Open to ages 13-16 our performance programme will equip athletes will the tools they need to excel in their competition and performance environments whilst excelling athletic performance.

We recognise that this is a very competitive stage of development for this age group and, as a result, athletes needs to be able to show resilience, technical excellence and tactical superiority on court in order to secure game time, have impact and ultimately excel their performance. 

Within the U16 programme athletes will learn to train to perform. By the end of the programme our athletes will be able to:

• Excel athletic performance
• Demonstrate physical strength on court and perform change of direction and sprint practices with athleticism
• Demonstrate technical excellence of fundamental ball handling and movement skills
• Think tactically about the game and be confident and proactive in implementing attacking and defensive principles and game sense to practices and match play
• Demonstrate leadership on court through competent decision making and communication under pressure
• Be fearless on court and have impact.   

It is our aim throughout both pathway programmes to develop thinking players who have a psychological edge in the game, not well drilled athletes. We make sure that every session provides stretch and challenge for every athlete to ensure they continue to learn, train and perform on court.