Having a ball with Wasps superstar players

AROUND 800 pupils from across Coventry and Warwickshire joined Wasps Netball superstar players for the team’s largest ever community day.

Primary and secondary school youngsters descended upon the Ricoh Arena for the chance to gain top class coaching from Wasps Netball’s first-team players.

Visitors to the home of Wasps Netball were given the chance to get up close to some of the biggest names at the club, including defender Sam May, who was joined by new signings Chloe Essam and Tamsin Moala to lead a range of sessions throughout the day.

The trio will be part of the Wasps squad looking to win a third consecutive Vitality Netball Superleague title when the season gets under way in January. Former Wasps director of netball Tamsin Greenway was also in attendance, leading a special warm-up routine on the Wasps Netball Superleague court, where Wasps play their home matches.

The rolling programme of activities also included strength and conditioning training, drills on an inflatable court, and a Q&A session with Tamsin Moala.

The visit also included a behind-the-scenes tour of the Ricoh Arena, giving youngsters an insight into the players’ preparation before highprofile games.

Students then had the chance to have their photo taken with the Vitality Superleague trophy, which Wasps retained in July after beating Loughborough Lightning in the grand final for the second year running.

Franchise manager at Wasps Netball, Sarah Taylor, was on hand to lead the event.

She said: “Providing opportunities for the local community to visit us at the Ricoh Arena is incredibly important to us at Wasps.

Getting active”We’ve had a mixture of our superleague players, coaches from across our age-group programme, staff from England Netball, and members of the Wasps community team here to support the children.

“It is fantastic to see so many youngsters getting active and involved in our sport, while giving them a flavour of what a fantastic venue and facilities we have here at the Ricoh Arena .

“Community engagement is a huge part of Wasps Netball. We’re really committed to playing our part in delivering netball opportunities in our local area. We aim to share our passion for the sport and inspire as many people as possible to get involved.”