CATERHAM NETBALL ACADEMY / SURREY STORM
Over the last year some very exciting developments have been made in Caterham Netball, with a partnership with Superleague Franchise Surrey Storm being established in September 2017, and a Caterham Netball Academy being launched this spring.
We are extremely delighted to have secured Sam Houghton, Head Coach of the Surrey Storm U17 squad, as Netball Academy Manager. Sam joins us from Cranleigh and will bring with her a wealth of netball coaching experience. Caterham now have two netball coaches involved in the Storm franchise, as Jaclyn Leach (Head of Netball) is the current Head Coach of the Surrey Storm U14 Academy Squad.
Establishing a partnership with Surrey Storm has led to Caterham being used as a training venue for the U17 and U19 Hub Academies, and Sam will work closely with Surrey Storm to continue the work of the Hubs at Caterham. Alongside this, two Academy sessions will run weekly and will be open to Caterham girls as well as players from the local area. Training days and camps will also run during the school holidays.
The link with Surrey Storm and the launching of the Academy comes at a time when Caterham is enjoying some of its best netball of recent years. Success has come from a range of age groups and a range of teams, including wins over Guildford High, Hurstpierpoint, Benenden, Portsmouth Grammar and St George’s College. Both the 1st VII and U14 VII were undefeated at the first round of the Surrey Schools competition; and the U12 VII winning the prestigious Burgess Hill tournament back in September.
Caterham girls have also had success as part of the Storm Academy squads. Julianne successfully trialed for the U14 Academy squad, joining Olivia (1st VII co-captain) who was previously in the Surrey Storm U17 squad. Katie trains as part of the Caterham U17 Hub, and Old Cat Georgie was this season selected for the Surrey Storm U21 squad.
The partnership with Surrey Storm has also given us opportunities for our girls to challenge themselves against the Storm girls, who travel from all over London and the South East to train. Back in October, the U14 VII travelled over to the Surrey Sports Park to play a series of training matches against the Surrey Storm U14 Academy in preparation for the first round of the National Schools competition. Then in February our ThunderCats squad – fourteen of our best players from U12 through to U15 – travelled over to again play a set of matches against Storm.
These are very exciting times for Caterham Netball and we cannot wait to see what further opportunities and successes lie ahead for our girls.
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