University of Kent

I have been playing netball for around 15 years now. I started out mainly because of my mum. She started up her own netball club when I was young and I was always at the netball courts with her. I guess being around netball so much with mum is what gave me such a passion for it.

This year I gained a place in Surrey Storm Super league Squad. This is my biggest achievement so far in netball, and was honestly the best feeling when I finally got my place as I have been working for this since I first started out.

As a young player I fully understand that this season will be a big learning curve for me and am already learning so much from the more experienced players. My future goals are to get on the court for Surrey Storm this season and to work hard and become an established player in the team like those around me now, this way I can help bring on future young players like myself and strengthen the Netball Super league in England.

Obviously getting into Storm has meant a big change in my lifestyle, netball does dominate my life. I am currently training around 15 to 20 hours a week, this includes team training, individual training and matches. This can be very demanding, especially since I have to travel out of the area to train not just with Surrey Storm but also my other regional side. However, I think I have a good lifestyle and manage my time considerably well. I still have a job and a social life. For me to do everything I want to do I have to be organised and have good time management. The best advice I could give for any athlete in my shoes is you can not get time back, so do not waste it.

A typical day for me normally consists of an early morning and a long day on campus. I will normally be in the gym or the library by 8 or 9 in the morning and will work training and degree work around lectures and work. Monday to Thursday I will leave campus about 5pm and head off to team training.

Having a Kent scholarship has helped me massively this year. The staff are all very supportive and often go out of their way to help me with training, whether it is strength and conditioning training or just dragging out equipment early in the mornings. They also take a big interest in how I am progressing, particularly our uni team scores, and it is nice to have people take an interest in your life. Obviously the financial support is a very big help for me too. I honestly would not be able to afford all the things I am doing at the moment without the scholarship; it has helped me with travel expenses and kit this year. It is such a valuable programme and helps so many students.