Team Bath Netball head into the second half of the 2021 Vitality Superleague season this weekend excited to build on their impressive work so far and buzzing for the challenge ahead.
Anna Stembridge, Superleague Head Coach for the Haines Watts-sponsored Blue & Gold, has been pleased with her highly-talented squad’s individual and collective performances so far following 10 wins from their opening 11 matches.
As the action moves from Wakefield to London’s Copper Box Arena for the final nine games of the regular season, Stembridge is expecting her table-topping team to come under growing pressure from the chasing pack but cannot wait to see how they rise to the challenge.
“We’ve all been loving the season so far and now it’s about keeping that sense of energy and fun as we push on into the business end,” said Stembridge, whose side faces Welsh rivals Celtic Dragons on Sunday (12pm centre-pass).
“It’s been pleasing to see how we have matched up against different oppositions and different styles, and all 15 players in our squad have taken to the court which is really important in ensuring they are ‘good to go’ whenever we call on them.
“It’s great that we’ve won 10 out of 11 so far, and that loss was only by a single goal, but we are under no illusion that the next part of the season is going to be harder. Teams know what everyone else is about now and, with all of this year’s matches being shown on YouTube, there is so much information out there for players and coaches.
“Teams are going to have to be smarter in the second half but that is something we are determined to thrive on. Ultimately we want to be the best so we have to play against the best.
“The players are continuously asking more from themselves, their team-mates and us coaches, as you would expect from such a talented and driven group. In training last week we asked ourselves what are we happy with so far, what we need to build on and what we want to focus on moving forward.
“We’re still tweaking and building on connections, and that’s why I know we still have much more to give during the coming weeks. We can’t wait to get going again.”
Sunday’s match will be shown live on Sky Sports YouTube and the link will be available at netball.teambath.com/fixtures and on the TeamBathTV YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, Team Bath U21 co-captain Molly Hole has been selected in the England Roses Academy squad for 2021 after impressing at trials last weekend. The talented defender captained England U17s to the Netball Europe title last year.
Team Bath Netball is the Superleague franchise for the South West of England and has Academy Training Centres in every district – Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire. The club is supported by its Principal Partner, chartered accountants Haines Watts, who are also a pathway partner, and by Rengen Developments and Centurion Chartered Financial Planners. O’Neills are Team Bath’s official kit supplier.
Courtesy of the Team Bath Press Office at Matchtight
