By Callum Wright
Nottingham Forest Netball head coach Chelsea Pitman says she hopes new community events with the city’s youth will create the next generation of netball stars.
The club recently launched their netball club ahead of their inaugural league season next year, with home games to be played at the Motorpoint Arena.
They’ve appointed Australia-born former England international Pitman to lead the side – after she retired from the sport this summer.
She took part in a community event at the Nottingham High School sports grounds on Friday (November 1), giving girls over the age of 10 a chance to train and gain insights into high-level netball.
Since the creation of Nottingham Forest Netball in May, the team have opened up several pathways for young people in the community to engage with the sport.
Their ‘community roots’ programme allows young athletes of all ages to have access to the team and get experience at the highest level.
Pitman, 36, says the experience of hosting her first session with young members of the community was special.
“As long as they learnt something but overall enjoyed the experience, that’s a win for me,” she said.
“I think the enjoyment factor is what we’re so great at doing. There’s a time and a place for it to be professional, serious and elite, but that’s not what this is about.”
She added that, as well as getting girls out to play netball, it’s crucial local people can find enjoyment in the sport and grow while playing.
“The 10-year plan is for every single girl to be from this region, and that comes down to community”, she said.
“If they can fall in love with the game of netball and stay playing it, I think it’s beneficial for live skills for the future as people get older.
“Our goal is to have that Motorpoint Arena filled with Forest fans and them getting behind us, so we’ve got our job to do in performing and finding success, but it’s also about getting out to the community and making them fall in love with forest netball and coming to support.”
During the session, the girls had a chance to take part in multiple dynamic training drills, get top-level tips and insight, play fun games, and play in different positions to challenge themselves.
Chloe Wilson, 12, was one of the girls taking part in the training session, and she said having the chance to train with Pitman made her excited for the upcoming season.
“It was really good, I’ve met a few players but I’ve always wanted to meet Chelsea [Pitman] because she’s really inspirational so it was really good meeting her and especially that she got to train us,” she said.
“I’m going to go with a few of my friends to a few of the games, I’m very excited for them.”
The Community Trust has also teamed up with Nottingham University Samworth Academy (NUSA) to provide free weekly football and netball sessions for girls and boys aged 12-16.
Corey McGlynn, head of community netball at Forest, says it’s an amazing opportunity.
She said: “It’s an amazing opportunity for anyone that wants to start sport from any background, from any school, any age who wants to get involved, it’s somewhere to start and we’re giving them that opportunity-you don’t get that much in netball so for us to pave the way and start with the free sessions is brilliant.
“Grassroots netball is quite a private school sport, and that’s what we’ve got to get away from, we’ve got to get into those Primary Schools, get into those areas that don’t have the opportunity.”
Nottingham Forest Netball will kick off their Netball Super League season in March 2025 at the Motorpoint Arena against LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons.
