A journey that has taken the netball world by Storm

The Storm girls had a great time at the 2019 Pre-Season Camp at Waratah Bay. 244655 Pictures: SUPPLIED

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Since the inception of the Gippsland Storm Elite Development Netball Club in 1998 it has gone from strength to strength in developing elite netballers from all over regional Gippsland through to the outer eastern suburbs of Melbourne.

A cross section of players and parents at Gippsland Storm were recently asked why they initially got involved with the Storm program.

The consensus of opinion is that they were given opportunities to develop in a competitive environment, that in the long term far exceeded their expectations.

So that begs the question as to why they continue to sacrifice so much of their time and effort to be part of this Strom journey?

Gippsland Storm head coach Simon O’Shanassy was recently asked about the substance of the club and some of the milestones it had achieved along the way.

“In the time I’ve been at Gippsland Storm (20 years) our club has always prided itself on providing development and pathway opportunities to aspiring netballers,” O’Shanassy said.

“We strive to provide a training environment which gives all our athlete’s every opportunity to reach their full potential.

“We have been very fortunate to see so many of our athlete’s go on to represent their associations, their State, and their country at both junior and senior levels.

“We also have a strong, long standing working relationship with our affiliate club, Hawks Netball Club, who compete in the VNL (Victorian Netball League) competition.

“We are proud to say that we have a significant representation of athletes at the Hawks over many years who have come through the Gippsland Storm junior program.”

And the Storm have provided many additional opportunities along the way.

One such event was the Norma Plummer Clinic, held in February 2019, was an absolute coup for the club.

Having one of the world’s most respected and successful netball coaches overseeing the club’s athletes and giving her thoughts on what it takes to be an elite athlete, is something the girls did not forget any time soon.

Norma ran the girls through a number of progressive drills, which brought out the best in each athlete.

Annual Pre-Season Camps have also been an integral part of the program and are designed to encourage and promote trust and connection amongst the athletes.

The 2019 Pre-Season Camp at Waratah Bay was a memorable one as it promoted one of the many fantastic camps available in Gippsland.

The girls were put through their paces and given guidance by one of our major sponsors at Inspire Physiotherapy for Women, against the backdrop of beautiful beaches and oceans.

Looking to the future, Gippsland Storm will be looking to consolidate and build on its strong relationship with the Hawks and Inspire Physiotherapy for Women, as well as building on its reputation as a development club that provides ongoing development opportunities to all of its athlete’s that wear the Storm uniform.

If players would like to be part of the club’s journey, they can keep a look out for tryouts to be held in October of this year. Visit the club’s website: www.gippslandstorm.com.au or track the club’s Facebook posts for updates.