Coaching takes centre stage

With Michelle Hayden, the new Head of Coach Education and Development in place, there will be an increased focus within England Netball on developing our coaches at every level. We speak with the woman tasked with making it happen.

What is your background?

For the past 20 years I’ve worked in sport development, predominantly in inclusion and coach development roles. Prior to joining England Netball, I was Head of Coaching at British Triathlon for five years, but netball is the sport that has always had my heart. It’s one that I participated in for a long time until I had a bad back injury and it’s one that I wanted to get hold of.

What is your playing background?

Primary school is where it started, but I kind of lost touch with it during the early years of college. Then when I was about 20 at university, a friend told me that they’d joined a local team and I should come and play, so I did. I had got into netball coaching by that point and I was about 19 when I took my Level 2 Coaching Award. And then I played with that team in South Yorkshire for 13 years. I would have loved to carry on, but my body had other ideas! It was very social and gave you a great circle of friends, alongside keeping me active.

And what’s your brief at England Netball?

Pretty large! But broadly to start looking at really modernising our education and learning offer, supporting current coaches and people who want to get into coaching.

We’ve had some inconsistency I think over the past few years so ensuring that all of our coaches in the Netball Family feel loved and valued and that they feel a connection to England Netball. I think they’re craving some learning from us and want to engage with us. So hopefully we can bring that to life for all of the coaches that are out there and support them on their journeys and development.

And in turn, hopefully they can support participants and players to develop as well.

We have coaches in Back to Netball, Bee Leaders, Counties and Super League right the way through to the Roses, and we need to ensure that we’re developing all of them, making sure we’ve got emerging coaches coming all the way through. So it’s a really broad remit, but in essence making sure everyone is developed and supported.

What should members of the Netball Family expect to see over the next few years in coaching?

At the moment, we’re trying to create a real connection. In the coming months, we are going to be able to engage in a series of video podcasts. There’ll be some really exciting topics in there, kicking off with some of our elite coaches but we’ll also cover NETBALLHer, and much more. We’ll be bringing all that to life and hopefully signposting people towards existing resources that they might not have engaged with already, as well as working on a new coaching strategy. We will also be taking part in UK Coaching Week and we want you to get involved with #PassItOn, sharing your learning and supporting each other. With all of this we are trying to make sure people feel inspired and excited by netball coaching, and to see that they’re getting the right knowledge and information. And then of course hoping they’re going on to inspire those around them.

I need to make sure I have oversight so that we understand at what stage our coaches are at on their journey, and that there’s a relevant learning and development offer for coaches.

So, that’s everything – formal coaching education courses, which over the longer term will evolve and modernise and be fit for the future, but also informal learning with opportunities to engage with us and have your say, so that we can hear from you and really understand what your wants and needs are as a coach.

What would you say your vision is of what a coach should be like?

You should feel passionate and excited. I think you should be coaching because it’s something that you love and you want to develop people, whatever the level of the sport that you are at. I want to make sure that everyone has a good time, that they reach their own personal goals and that they are enjoying netball. And that’s the same whatever level you are participating at – it should be fun and progressive!

What does success look like in this coaching role for you?

I think it will be when we are getting positive engagement and therefore good feedback from coaches and that they are feeling loved, valued and connected with England Netball. I want people to be engaging in ongoing learning and development with us, on courses that are really fit for purpose. And I want us to be developing good coaches, so that when they are on their coaching journeys, participants are feeding back that they are having good experiences with coaches who have developed and supported them.

When you came into netball, were there things that obviously needed focus?

I think it’s no secret that people want to see the tech platforms evolve over time. That’s on our medium to longer term planning to look at what systems we could use to help learners engage with England Netball.

And what would your overriding message be?

We’re here for you and we are as passionate about netball as you are.

We want to make sure that we drive netball coaching forward, and we want to get everyone engaging with England Netball and feeling that love and passion and hopefully we can develop your knowledge and skills as we all progress.

The Women’s Sport Collective has established a new cross-sport community for female coaches, featuring Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby.

Are you a woman coaching in sport? Whether you’re just starting out or have years of experience, the Women’s Sport Collective Coaching Hub is here to support, connect and inspire you.

The Coaching Hub is proud to have a number of trailblazers who are passionate about empowering the next generation of female coaches as Patrons, including Jenny Meadows, Hope Powell, Giselle Mather, Mel Marshall, Judy Murray and, of course, Vitality Roses Head Coach Jess Thirlby.

Free to join, the Coaching Hub is a cross-sport community created to champion women coaches at every level - from grassroots to elite performance.

As a member, you’ll get access to:

A supportive and active WhatsApp group

Online networking events and in-person meet-ups

Regular newsletters with insights and opportunities

A voice to shape the future for women in coaching

Exclusive closed-door conversations with elite coaches

Full access to the wider Women’s Sport Collective network

This is your space to connect, grow and be heard — alongside other women who share your passion for coaching and sport.

Learn more about the Coaching Hub