The finals-bound NSW Swifts will build on their most successful Super Netball season by launching an academy which has been designed to prepare talented local players for the increasing demands – and pressure – of their sport.
NSW Swifts general manager Nikki Horton said the purpose of the academy was to provide elite youngsters from around the state with another pathway to develop, while, at the same time, expanding the club's pool of home-grown talent.
Swifts players Tayla Fraser, Sophie Halpin, Lauren Moore and Paige Hadley – all NSW products.Credit:Narelle Spangher
The academy will allow members of the Swifts training partners, the NSW Waratahs – who compete in the Australian Netball League – and those players identified by state selectors as potential elite-grade players to develop their game.
"We'll have 20 athletes and we'll replicate for them what we do in the NSW Swifts environment," Horton said. "The QBE Swifts Academy will provide high-performance court sessions; strength and conditioning sessions, sports psychology, nutrition, skill and movement mentoring, performance analysis and recovery.
"The purpose of the academy is to develop future Swifts, so that means they'll also be exposed to the behaviours, culture and values that underpin the Swifts."
The academy will start operating later this year and will be based at Sydney Olympic Park until the Swifts relocate to their new Centre of Excellence at Moore Park in 2021.
Tayla Fraser says the Swifts Academy is exciting for the next generation of netball talent in NSW.Credit:Narelle Spangher
Tayla Fraser – who made her Super Netball debut for the Swifts this season – said the academy will open an "exciting" world for many players.
"It would've been awesome to have had this academy in place when I was coming through the pathways," the 20-year-old said. "The academy will allow athletes to see what the professional environment is like, and that it's a good place to be."
Fraser said the academy was another sign of the growth of women's sport in Australia.
"I'm a big fan of AFL and while men have had academies over the years they're bringing them to the AFLW," she said. "Now we have them in netball, and that's amazing because it's a good way for a young player to realise what is expected of them."
Apart from boasting its own head coach, the Swifts Academy will also have a strength and conditioning coach and numerous specialist coaches.
"An academy not only develops the next generation, but it also honours all the wonderful players who've come through our ranks down the years," Swifts coach Briony Akle said. "It is their legacy that inspires us, and it's what we are looking to continue."
QBE Australia-Pacific CEO Vivek Bhatia said the Swifts' principal partner was delighted to support the continued growth of netball because he's witnessed what the sport can do for young girls.
"I've been a netball father for 10 years," he said. "I'm courtside from 7am rain, hail or sunshine. This sport teaches it's players a couple of things from a young age: resilience, and, most importantly, it teaches the importance of collaboration and teamwork.
"We're proud to be doing something with the Swifts to help women's sport get to the same level as men's sport. It's important."
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