Huddersfield Hi-Tech netball team compete against some of the best clubs in the country at the weekend as they fight for a place in the Premier League.
They will compete over the two days in the England Netball Premier 3 playoffs against other Premier League sides that are aiming to avoid relegation and other Northern League sides chasing promotion.
Anna Harrison, who has played every game in the Northern League this year as goal keeper and goal defence, has had her say on how the team feel going into the big games at the weekend:
Last season was clearly a good time for the team after winning the quadruple, will that be used as inspiration going into the playoffs?
We have enjoyed fantastic success over the last few seasons, winning the quadruple for the last two years, the triple this season and finishing 2nd in our first season in the Northern League. We’ve achieved so much for a relatively small and unknown club. The competition in the Northern League has been extremely competitive, challenging and a big step up from the regional league.
The success we have had this season has definitely given the team a greater desire and appetite to achieve even more. Knowing that we have been selected by Yorkshire Netball for these playoffs will certainly be used as inspiration going into the weekend’s matches.
How confident do the team feel as they prepare for something as important as this?
The team are used to winning, having only lost a handful of matches in recent years and while we know this weekend will be the biggest test we have ever faced, confidence in the team is high. The national Premier League playoffs is the next step up for us and while we have not experienced this level of netball before, we are looking forward to the challenge...with maybe just a little nervous excitement!
Preparation for the playoffs has been good, we’ve worked hard with regular local league matches, not to mention a team building night out at the bingo! As long as we play our own game and enjoy the opportunity playing against some of the best teams in the country, we know we will have a good weekend.
The team had also received well wishes from other local teams, does that give an added boost going into the playoffs?
Definitely! The support from the netball community and other clubs across the North has been amazing and has given our confidence such a boost. Many of the messages are from teams who are usually our rivals so it’s great to see they’re all supporting our journey and are behind us every step of the way.
As the playoffs are at the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield we’re hoping to get lots of local (and vocal!) support over the weekend to cheer us on which will be an added advantage over the travelling teams. Having this extra support makes us even more hungry to go out on court to win and to put on a performance to make everyone proud.
Do you feel that the team's success in recent seasons can help to bring more prominence to the game in the area?
We have gained some great coverage from the local press on our success in recent years and also for the playoffs which has definitely helped to raise the profile of netball and the club in the community, hopefully with continued success we can gain even more!
As our team is a mix of backgrounds, ethnicities and ages, we hope our success will inspire others into the game at every level. Having an outlet like Netball in the Huddersfield community is only a good thing.
