The Netball Show
S7 Ep63: Sam Bird (Part 02)(05th Sept 2024)
(upbeat music) - Hi, this is Nat Metcalf. Flyhawk have developed a unique 3D kit designer that's fully customizable. So if you're looking for a new kit for your team for the new season, visit flyhawk.com or email info@flyhawk.com with your ideas now. - Nation Player is the easy to use, one-stop radio and audio app. Download Nation Player now on the Apple App Store or Google Play. Nation Player, where on are you? The netball show with Flyhawk. Raising the bar for netball and winning sports. - Let's have a look at some of those new names now. Sophie Kelly, first of all, obviously made the move from Bath and that time at Storm II. So was she always somebody that was on your radar and style that you admired? - Yeah, I mean, I remember her bursting onto the scene with Storm actually and had a great game against us around a great debut, I don't know whether we were her first game, but she stuck in my mind as someone that just came onto court and gained really dynamic player, good attacking, goalless hack and good long-range shooter. And I've liked her for a long time and I think she sort of fits our style as well as sort of being a quick attacker, playing with some flair and giving, again, giving that sort of pulse bit of spice. I think she'll fit really nicely in with the attackers that we've got and she's obviously in the England futures now as well and has been developing nicely as a player. So I'm really looking forward to bringing her in and seeing her grow within this 10. And I think there's a lot more to come from Sophie as well and I'm playing with the sort of high standard of attacking players she'll have around her. I think we'll see her push on, show what she's really, really capable of. - Another new name in that squad as well is Gracie Smith, 16-year-old England academy player. What can you tell about Gracie? - Yeah, so I've worked with Gracie at grassroots level. She's their term for player. So I've known her for a while. She's an amazing young athlete. She's really strong, really got a great physical presence but learning both wing defense and center really well. She's also played gold defense for me at junior level. But I think Gracie will fit into the post style of play. She's like a naturally aggressive defender, sights the ball, likes to win ball. I'm really excited to see her working around players like Zara and Fumi and Halle and Darcy just to see again how she comes on this season. But I think she's a definite in my brain. She's a star already and a star of the future. And I think people will really enjoy watching Gracie play. - Obviously, Liv, Halle and Fumi are back as well as many of your places that you then return. So I suppose while you've got that great team on paper, one of those challenges you'll face is how it actually works out over the course of the season. Is that one of the fun parts of being the manager? - Well, yeah, I mean, at the end of the day, we've retained seven players. So you've already got seven players there that know how to play with each other. They've been, you know, Liv, Fumi and Halle and Zara have been at the club a long time. They've earned Alicia, this is her fourth season. You know, we've kept a lot of loyalty on the roster and I'm really grateful for that, that players have committed to the club over a long period of time. And there's some genuine friendships and I think it enables Frank conversations as well. And that drives the level of competition up. Those players are also roses and academy players. You know, they're top class players. As you can imagine, lots of them had lots of offers to go elsewhere. And I think their friendship and their loyalty to the club and their high ability, you know, as netballers is great for us as a club to have retained our core athletes and they will hit the ground running. They know each other really well and they enjoy each other's company and they'll enjoy playing together as well. So, you know, we've pretty much kept our back end the same. I think we're renowned for our strong defense, defensive capability and to retain all of those players at the back end is really, really good. So I'm really happy. I think we're in a strong position to start the league in a strong way and the new players coming in will add some extra strength and depth, but, you know, the core is already there. And the fact that the efforts are back as well, really are suppose easy to offer them a place? Yeah, I mean, all those players that have been retained, their place really, you know, it wasn't difficult decision at all. You know, they've all performed really well for the club. And I think one of the things we've always sort of prided ourselves on is that all of these players want to continue to improve and are ambitious for this club to finally try and win the league. We've been so close in the last couple of seasons. And, you know, so they're motivated to really give it a good crack this year. So it's, again, obviously lovely to have both sisters back and both completely different personalities and bring their own flavour of netball to pulse. But, yeah, very, very well deserved by both of them. Have you managed to select a leadership group yet? Are we going to leave it a bit closer to when everybody is together? Yeah, it's always a challenge because, though many are on international duty, obviously live in Fermi or in Australia right now. Zara's in Hong Kong. Hallie is back, which she's working. I think she started in the school this week. So it's always trying hard. We've obviously got Tyler and Nicole, both in their home countries at the moment. So it's a bit like herding cats at this point of the season, trying to get everyone together. But the players themselves will be involved in, you know, who they want to be in the leadership group as well. It'll be a collaborative process with the players and the staff. And there's certainly a number of strong personalities that can be in that leadership group. It'll just be more about getting a good mix of views in that group so that we get good, balanced views on leadership, questions and challenges. Birmingham Panthers and Nottingham Forest. They're a bit of an unknown at this stage, but are you looking forward to those matchups against them? Yeah, I mean, lots of people have been asking me, and I would do you know who's on the other rosters? One end, who's on the same? Well, what I have to say, Andy, is I've really just focused on us. As you know, there's been so much sort of incorrect information flying around and lots of nonsense. And ultimately, we've just decided to stay focused on getting the best roster we can. So I genuinely don't know really who are on these other rosters. But I think what I expect and I hope is that all the rosters are strong. And that's obviously what the movement towards a professional league should look like, that every player playing in the league is strong. And that should mean that they're closer games and hopefully teams with different styles that we can sort of start to see that form up. You know, we've got a very strong DNA with wanting to win ball and quick transition at Pulse, but other teams will have different styles of play. And I think that's going to be really intriguing as a coach and a good challenge just to see how we form up against those other rosters. But I don't really know. I haven't really spent too much time trying to find it. But up until this point, we've just been really focused on really trying to get the very best roster for us. And I'm really happy that I think we've done that. Has the Flyhawk deal been extended? Yeah, so we're working with Flyhawk for another three years. We really value the brand. We have a great relationship with Steph. So we think they're a great brand for netball and as a female business as well. You know, we like to champion and support other female businesses. So it's a really good synergy with Flyhawk and players love the kit and fans love the replica kit. So it's a great, great partnership to be continuing on with. And finally, Sam, are you ready for all those twists and turns that the league's going to throw at you this year? Probably not. I mean, you just never know, do you? No, just never know. And as a fan, obviously, everyone wants tight games with loads of drama as a coach, I still want nice, cool, calm victories. But of course, that's unlikely to happen. So I think I'm just buckling up and getting ready for the ride like everybody else. Brilliant, Sam, thank you for your time. Everything LondonPulse, LondonPulseNetball.com. The netball show is now also available via SkyHD, SkyQ, and Skyglass. So let's get it and we're on the podcast's rail.
The second part of our exclusive chat with London Pulse's Sam Bird who talks NSL 2025