‘Gone are the days when netball stops when you become a mum’
LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning fans’ favourite Lauren Nicholls has spoken about returning to elite-level sport after becoming a mum.
Nicholls – known fondly as “Steaders” – gave birth to daughter Maya in 2019 and, following last year’s shortened campaign due to Covid, this is her first full season back in action.
The 29-year-old has been part of the Superleague scene for a number of years and, having been raised in the Midlands, was brought up through Lightning’s pathway and has stayed with them since making her senior debut in 2012.
Nicholls has already made an impact for her side in the mid-court this year with Loughborough Lightning top of the league after five matches of the Vitality Netball Superleague campaign.
She said: “I gave birth in the August (2019) and signed my contract for Lightning a month before that with no real pressure of when my exact return date was going to be.
“We just knew that there was an intention for me to be back on a Superleague court at some point within the season.
“When I returned she was so small and was a lot more reliant on me.
“I was breastfeeding at the time, so she was having to be with me before and after training and travelling around with me. It’s a lot more straightforward now she’s 18 months
old; she walks, she talks, she’s a great laugh.
“She can have time at home with her dad and then I can go off and have that focused time on netball, so it’s a little bit more straightforward now she’s a lot older.
“I wanted to keep that identity of being a sportswoman so coming back on to court was really important for me. I felt like I could be a better mum for it.”
Nicholls, who also suffered an ACL injury which saw her sidelined for 14 months, made her comeback as a new mum as a substitute against Manchester Thunder last year.
She said: “It’s a huge achievement. It’s all the things that people don’t see behind the scenes.
“I had to stay active throughout my pregnancy so, as soon as Maya was born, I could take my time appropriately for getting back to court.
“I’d emailed (director of netball) Sara (Bayman) back at Lightning when Maya was two weeks old and we knew that I was wanting to come back soon.
“So, working with our wider coaching team, we had a gradual return to play that was a really clear pathway. They were really supportive.
“The girls were so accommodating and welcoming, it was like I’d never left.
“It wasn’t anything new that I was taking up and I felt like my body was strong and able to do that, so I wanted to carry on.”
Nicholls is just one of many athletes who have chosen to start a family and later returned to play at the elite level of the sport.
Wasps captain Sophia Candappa and Team Bath’s Eboni Usoro-Brown are all making regular appearances this season after recently becoming new mums. The three now keep in contact over text.
Nicholls, who says Maya is now firmly a Lightning fan, believes they can inspire the next generation of athletes who want to start a family.
“It’s so important that we keep celebrating that we are strong women that have given birth, come back on to court and want to compete at that level,” she said.
“Hopefully, people can see that and think they’ve got the power to do so as well.
“Gone are the days where netball stops when you become a mum. “It’s celebrating that you’ve got a new person in your life that you’re wanting to give everything to and give the best start in life, but without having to stop your own.”