JUNIOR girls from Stratford Thunderbirds Netball Club were special guests of England Netball for Sunday’s England versus Jamaica international match held at the Ricoh Arena in Coventry.
They were enlisted to demonstrate ‘Hi 5’ netball to hundreds of fans as they gathered for the nail-biting conclusion of the Vitality International Series.
In return, many of the girls, along with head coach Kelly McCormack and team managers Gemma Cook and Katherine Stubbings, were given free tickets to watch two of the world’s greatest netballing nations battle it out.
The only thing to burst the girls’ bubble was seeing England narrowly beaten 64-57.
Hi 5 is a faster, five-a-side spin-off game which is growing in popularity among junior girls and requires all players to rotate through each position.
This invitation was a fitting reward for the Thunderbirds club, which has been actively recruiting and teaching netball skills to both primary and secondary school-aged girls since forming in September 2015.
Thunderbirds are the reigning Warwickshire Hi 5 champions and the current U11A team are unbeaten in this season’s Worcestershire Hi 5 League as they sit on the verge of taking the title.
