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Coaches’ and Athletes’ Focus
Marie Ewing Netball
Marie Ewing Durham University Netball Coach Marie Ewing is a member of Team Durham’s graduate coaching staff, filling the role of Head Coach for Durham University Netball Club and playing wing attack for the 1st VII. Under Marie, the 1st VII has cemented their place in the top four of the BUCS Northern Premier League and they beat Loughborough to win a place in the BUCS Championship semi-finals this year. Before I was invited to interview, I had already been working with the Durham University Netball Club for two years. When the opportunity came up, I thought that I had to grab it so I could continue the development of the club that had already been set on its way. I am doing a part-time Masters course in Education, which has helped my employability. This is complemented by the work with the community allowed by my job as a Team Durham coach.
Every working day I go to either primary or secondary schools throughout Durham City, to encourage enthusiasm and talent amongst young netballers, and to feed our junior netball club, which was set up three years ago. Ever since, it has gone from strength to strength and we now have three teams of local community netballers who train on a Thursday night in our facilities at Maiden Castle.
The club, as a whole, has seen noticeable improvement over the last few years. In my opinion, this grows partly from the squad environment that is now well established. This means that even if you are in the 2s and the 3s, you know that there is a chance to move up the ranks. Everyone is therefore working hard to try and become a 1st team player and the club as a whole keeps improving.
I have been also working alongside the other coaches in Team Durham, who have been generous in sharing their knowledge, gained from experience, with me and this has improved my ability as a coach a lot. I have learnt a great deal from the girls too, who have got plenty of good ideas that they are willing to share with me. We have a good collaborative partnership in the Netball Club between Freshers, senior players and myself.
My own confidence has also grown during my time with D.U.N.C. Every player really loves her netball and everyone really wants to learn and develop. I am proud to say that the University Netball Club is one of the friendliest and I have benefited from this and I have recently been appointed as a Sports Teacher at Redhouse Independent School, Stockton.
2011/2012 - A Sporting Review