An Old Girl of the school, Laura joined keen netball players from Year 8 and 9 to hone their technique on the court, build team spirit for their upcoming tournaments and offer them expert insight into life on a national squad.
Offering lots of tips and advice to support their aspirations of reaching elite-level competition, both Laura and team coach Miss Danyelle Fry reminded the girls that success on the court comes from believing in yourself and putting complete trust in your team.
Laura said: “Today was really special. It’s so heart-warming to come back to a place that you found your love for a sport that you are now teaching or helping coach. By the end of each session, you could see just how hard the girls had trained to work on the areas they wanted to improve and it really worked. I wish them all the best for their tournaments and can’t wait to find out the results.”
Year 9 Issy said: “It was a great day and really helped boost my confidence. It was so exciting to train with someone who’s played for England and such an amazing opportunity to learn new tactics as a team.”
This summer, Laura won a podium place for her country when she represented England at the Indoor Netball World Cup as part of the England Nets mixed squad. The squad proudly took home bronze as well as making history as the first-ever mixed team to win the Super 7s category at this international competition.
Laura’s preparation for her national call-up was a degree in Sports Therapy at the University of Gloucestershire, followed by a Masters in Sport and Exercise Psychology at Plymouth Marjon University as well as seven years as a boarder at Truro High School.
Returning to the school to pass on her expertise to the next generation, Laura took time to thank the school’s teachers for awakening her enthusiasm for sport.
Laura said: “I would just love to take the opportunity to thank the PE department when I was at Truro High. Sport was one of my favourite subjects throughout my time at school. Every lesson was different, inspiring and they pushed me to be better. I don’t think I would have achieved half of my sporting accomplishments if that department weren’t as supportive and focused on us as they were.”
