Oaklands Wolves Netball Academy - 2022/23 Guide

Oaklands Wolves netball Academy A guide for new applicants 2022-23

We pride ourselves on being an athlete-centred Netball provision All athletes are supported by experienced College & Academy Teaching staff

OAKLANDS WOLVES NETBALL ACADEMY 4

ACADEMY FACTS

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ABOUT THE ACADEMY

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OUR STAFF

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TRAINING 8-9 GAME-DAY 10 ROLL OF HONOUR

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STUDYING AT OAKLANDS

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RESIDENTIAL PROVISION

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PARTNERSHIPS 14 ACADEMY KIT & SOCIAL

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OAKLANDS WOLVES NETBALL ACADEMY Student athletes can apply for our Netball Academy whilst gaining further academic qualifications by studying a variety of courses that Oaklands College has to offer.

It is important to make it clear that we are not a community Netball club, we are an East Region College team. Student athletes will continue to play for their current club. We can provide local club information if you are looking to join one.

Participation within our Netball Academy is open to all students enrolled on a course at the college, including the Welwyn Garden City campus.

joy.porter@oaklands.ac.uk

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 4

ACADEMY FACTS

FREE for students aged 16-18

Strength and conditioning training 3 times a week On-site accommodation available

Daily coached sessions

Physiotherapy Support

Netball athletes can still play for their current club/team

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Individually tailored sessions with 1 to 1 support Partnered with Saracens Mavericks

Nutritional guidance

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 5

ABOUT THE ACADEMY

The Netball Academy prides itself on being an athlete centred Netball provision. All Netball athletes registered on the programme will be supported by experienced college and academic teaching staff, who will work alongside the Head Coach and Assistant Coach to provide a programme that suits the individual student.

Athletes are also supported by qualified medical input during rehabilitation and recovery from injury, as well as providing other sports medicine support and nutritional advice where appropriate.

The academy side of this unique partnership will always be fundamental to the Netball programme; therefore the academic aspect will always take priority over Netball and students are expected to engage fully in their studies. Our coaches are in regular contact with students tutors to ensure this. If students are falling short of academic expectations, students can be withdrawn from playing and/or training.

The college offers a broad spectrum of courses. Not all courses fit around to the Netball programme, but many do. The Netball Academy runs alongside the college’s A-Level programmes, as well as courses such as BTEC in Sport (Level 2 and above) that will allow you to have access to the full Netball programme.

Should you find a course that clashes with the programme schedule, the coaches will find a solution that involves available participation so athletes can still train and play.

Pre-season training starts at the end of August and our college course timetable starts in September. Training will continue through to the end of May. The East Region Colleges League Competition Season generally runs from September to April.

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 6

OUR STAFF JOY PORTER Head Sports Coach, Netball I have coached Netball for 25 years after becoming a PE Teacher with a special interest in Netball and Basketball In earlier years I was a Coach on the Herts County Talented Athlete Development programme and have delivered numerous workshops and Coaching Sessions in this environment.

I also led the University of Hertfordshire Netball programme for 6 years.

As Lead Senior Club Coach I deliver weekly sessions for Talented Athletes in East Region 1 and 2 Leagues. At Club level we have grown participation from one Senior Team to 14 Senior Teams that play across Local League, Herts County League and East Region League as well as four Junior Teams across each age range. I deliver guest Junior Elite sessions for Club too I have been involved from the beginning of the Oakland’s Netball Academy Provision which was established in 2012 and we have supported Elite and Participation Netballers develop their Netball Skill whilst gaining qualifications.

KAREN STUBBS Sports Coach, Netball Karen has an extensive background in Netball, having held the role of Head Coach at Abbey Flyers Nomads Netball.

Karen’s full biography will be uploaded shortly, alongwith her official academy photo.

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 7

TRAINING The Netball Academy is passionate about supplying our student athletes with an all-round training programme, focusing on key areas to enhance their potential and give them a competitive edge.

The Sports Zone Gym in the Discovery Centre of our St Albans campus has a selection of gym equipment including cardio & resistance machines, free-weights, changing facilities and showers aswell as fitness mats and a variety of dumbbells, balance balls and much more.

Provided there are no lessons taking place, academy students are free to use the gym to develop their fitness, in addition to their internal academy training sessions.

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 8

Day / Time

Focus

Monday 9:00 - 11:00

Fitness and Technical training

11:00 - 12:30

Strength and Conditioning

Tuesday 9:00 - 10:45

Match Analysis: Technical and Tactical

12:00 - 13:00

Strength & Conditioning Game Day

Wednesday 9:00 - 11:00

Physiotherapy sessions

Thursday 9:00 - 11:00

Recovery day

Friday 9:00 - 10:30

Strength/Plyometric/Positional training

10:30 - 11:30

Strength & Conditioning

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 9

GAME DAY In the Oaklands College Netball Academy, game day is our favourite day of the week!

In-line with University Sports, game days are played on Wednesday afternoons as Oaklands College compete in the East Region Colleges League. This involves travelling across the region and are always an enjoyable team minibus adventure!

If we are not travelling across the region to a fixture, our girls will be playing on the Show Court in our state-of-the-art Sports Hall, cheered on by fantastic home crowd.

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 10

ROLL OF HONOUR Since 2013, the Netball Academy has witnessed a remarkable rise of 15 stars, who have all gone on to represent local County and Regional Leagues, Universities and the National Premier League.

Mia Dunsmuir Lillie Murphy

2018/19 2018/19

Herts County League Herts County League

Francesca Bullard Amy Collins

2017/18 2017/18

Brighton University Nottingham University Mavericks Futures / East Region League / England National Colleges Team Representative

Sasha Joseph

2017/18

Toni Wright-Brown

2017/18

Mavericks Futures / East Region League / England National Colleges Team Representative Mavericks / East Region League

Zara Bunce

2016/17

Eleanor Hobbs

2016/17

Ellen Whittle

2016/17

East Region League / Twickenham University Mavericks / National Premier League Herts County League University of Hertfordshire

Millie Salmon Megan Thornton

2015/16 2015/16

Twickenham University Nottingham University

Sophie Gregory Shareen Mohammed

2014/15 2014/15

Nottingham University Nottingham University

Elleyse Robertson

2013/14

Herts County League / Oaklands College Lecturer

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 11

STUDYING AT OAKLANDS The academic side of the course is integral to the netball programme. Full compliance with the chosen academic course is expected and any riders in breach of this are banned from training until they have caught up or complied.

Oaklands College Expectation

Supporting Your Learning

Students are expected to engage fully in their studies and there is regular communication with tutors to ensure our students are on track academically. If falling short of expectations, students can be withdrawn from training.

The College has an excellent student advice team who can support you with any pastoral needs. There are trained support tutors available in the Learning Resource Centre to support you with assignment work outside of lessons.

Should you have any questions about the courses available within the academy, a full list of courses can be found online at www.oaklands.ac.uk.

We are also able to provide additional learning support for students with particular learning needs, either on a one to one basis or through in-class support, as well as support with special exam arrangements and so forth.

English & Maths It is an expectation that all students without GCSEs in English and Maths graded at 4 or above will retake English and/or Maths alongside their main programme, as either a GCSE or Functional Skills qualification.

This may impact on some training involvement during the week.

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 12

RESIDENTIAL PROVISION

The Residential Homestead, which was opened to students in September 2020, provides accomodation for 80 students including communical areas, kitchens and a large car park and garden area.

Oaklands College offers student accommodation at St Albans Campus to students in specialist subjects such as land based studies courses, apprenticeships and those joining our sports academies.

If you are in a position to join us on campus, we aim to give you a safe, community environment that is close to campus and has all the support you need when taking what is often that all-important first step away from home.

We have a dedicated Residential team who are the first port of call for any students residing on campus during term time. They support with day to day safety and security, organise cleaning of the accommodation, provide pastoral care, support and individual welfare checks.

Anyone wishing to apply for accommodation on your chosen course will need to do so by ticking the relevant box on the application form when applying for your course.

If you have already applied without requesting accommodation and subsequently decide to apply for a residential place, please contact us on 01727 737000 or email info@oaklands.ac.uk.

info@oaklands.ac.uk

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 13

PARTNERSHIPS Who do we work with?

Saracens Mavericks We are proud to be sponsored with Saracens Mavericks and support them to spread our love of Netball within the community and wider region.

Oaklands Wolves Netball Academy are also proud to sponsor Saracens Mavericks players.

As a result of this partnership, we have access to a Saracens Mavericks player who comes into Oaklands College to deliver specialist sessions to our athletes and our student Netball players also have the opportunity to attend NSL matches.

Performance Hertfordshire As a Netball Academy, we are fortunate to work with the staff from Performance Hertfordshire to provide our athletes with first-class Strength and Conditioning services.

Performance Hertfordshire will take into consideration our training and game schedule to design and deliver a Netball specific rehabilitation programme, which is taught in our on-site Performance gym.

• Oaklands Netball kit.

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 14

ACADEMY KIT

Above are examples of the purchasable kit required for students of our Netball Academy.

ACADEMY SPONSORS Saracens Mavericks www.mavericksnetball.co.uk

We are proud to be in partnership with Saracens Mavericks and supporting them to spread the Netball love within the community and surrounding regions.

As part of our partnership we have access to Mavericks players who come and deliver specialist training sessions to our athletes and our academy students also have the opportunity to attend NSL matches.

www.oaklands.ac.uk/netball 15

Joy Porter & Sophie Welsh netball@oaklands.ac.uk Oaklands Wolves Netball Academy Oaklands College, St Albans Campus, Hatfield Road, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL4 0JA

@OaklandsNetbal1

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