In the second of our series of our Elite Q&A with top women’s sports stars, we were delighted to speak to Kira Rothwell, England and London Pulse netballer for our ‘In Conversation with…..’ Google Meet discussion this week.

Aged 19, Kira has already been capped by England and plays for London Pulse in the Vitality Netball Super League alongside her studies at the University of Birmingham. Keen on sport from a young age, Kira started off focusing on athletics (800 and 1500m), but played in the B team in Year 7 as she recalled “every time I caught the ball, it would smack me in the face!” However, she was put forward for Middlesex netball trial and to her surprise was selected! From then on, Kira loved playing netball. She realised from as early as Year 7 just what a difference putting the work in could make, as she said “I put in 200 shots every day – which no-one else was doing – so I was able to stand out from everyone else.” From Middlesex Satellite, Kira progressed to regional performance squads quickly before being selected for England U17s, then U19s and U21 squads, with a highlight her selection to compete for England in the Netball Europe competition in autumn 2019, when England won the gold medal with a very young squad.

Kira is currently studying at university and she explained how balancing everything is really important as she has to prioritise netball or studying or socialising, although she has found that netball has really helped her with her time management skills – “knowing that I have netball between 6 and 9pm in the evening means I know I have to get my work done before that, so I stick to doing my work during my long journeys in the car or train, for example, even though I would prefer to be doing something else instead!”

England’s Commonwealth Games victory in 2018 has changed many people’s attitudes to the sport, as Kira said,”I can remember after watching the final and then going to school – lots of people said to me they understood what netball was and why I played for the first time. It’s a really exciting time, especially for you guys as the next generation of netballers! I hope in my lifetime I will be able to play fully professionally. I might have to go to Australia to do it but that’s another dream for me. Hopefully full-time professional netball will be an option for you all in this country too when you are older.”

Then Kira took questions from our keen netballers on a wide variety of topics:

Q: How do you deal with missing key shots in games? How do you get your confidence levels up?

A: “There’s no easy answer – you have to try different things out yourself to see what works for you. I have tried lots of things since breaking my wrist last year. Shooting just didn’t feel the same. I tried psychology techniques. But practising is the main thing. Practise with your eyes closed – get a feel for your technique so it’s totally natural. Visualising is also great. Taking a breath before you take a shot to calm yourself down really works for me. Also ‘setting’ my feet before shooting helps me feel more calm.”

Q: Do you have any tips for the Y13s on going to university and joining a sports team as it can be nerve wracking if you don’t know anyone?

A: “The biggest thing is don’t be afraid to give it a go – try as many sports as you can. You’ll never be alone – everyone is going through the same thing in the first year! Joining a sports team is like getting a whole new bunch of friends to meet! We have a Sports Social on a Wednesday night which is great to be a part of.”

Q: Is there anything or who has inspired you?

A: “I always go back and watch the Commonwealth Games final. If I don’t want to do my shooting practice, I go and just watch Helen (Housby) score that winning goal which makes me want to practice more! Maria Folau (New Zealand GS/GA) can literally turn from anywhere and shoot. She’s so calm under pressure too. She is probably my role model.”

Q: What helps improve you as a team?

A: “This year at Pulse we are really close – mainly because of our socials – going out, for meals, plus little things like the little games we play in the changing room before the match, which makes us calmer and closer as a team.”

Q: Has doing long distance running helped you with netball?

A:“It has helped me massively because I play Goal Attack mostly and a few years ago everyone told me I was  too short to be GA as you need to be 6 foot plus – so I started being moved to WA or Centre, although I could shoot well. But because of my running I was quicker than other GAs, so my speed allowed me to stay in my position.”

Q: How long did you keep up running and netball?

A: “I kept up running as long as I could as the running track is so close to my home. I didn’t stop athletics fully until the 6^th form when I physically couldn’t do it alongside my school work and netball. But if you can keep running forever, then definitely go for it!”

Q: When you are trialing how do you handle the pressure?

A: “Great question! I think it helps to think of three things you want to work on during trial. For example, at one trial recently, I focused on passing with my left hand, communicating with my WA at the centre pass and breathing before I shoot. If I focus on doing these three things, say, it helps me not think about the stress of the trial itself. I also make sure I don’t eat too much, plus listening to a calming playlist also really helps me.”

Q: What are you doing during the lockdown so you don’t lose your fitness?

A: “At Pulse we have Zoom fitness sessions every morning at 10 – the training feels more intense than before! I’ll be cross if I’m not fitter than I was before all this!

It really helps having a structure to your days – I have fitness in the mornings and then in the afternoons I do shooting and ball work. If you don’t have a training plan from your club, write yourself a timetable to give your week some structure.”

Q: Any tips for keeping school sport going against other clubs if you play for both?

A: “If you’re good enough to be in county or regional squads, then you can build on your skills during your school matches. Communication is really important though – highlight with your club and your school which fixtures you can make for each so that compromises can be sorted out earlier.”

As the call came to an end, we received some lovely comments from the girls on the call, including:

“Thank you. It was fascinating to hear about your journey.”

“Thank you so much for talking to us. It was really great to hear from someone who’s a similar age to me and really relatable.”

“It’s been insightful to see how you balance all the components of your life, especially sport and uni.”

“Thank you Kira. Your netball pathway has been a great inspiration to look up to.”

Thank you so much to Kira for talking to us and giving us a great insight into the life of an international netballer, including some excellent tips on practising, focus and handling pressure, which our audience of Year 7s up to Year 13s could definitely relate to. We will be watching out for Kira when the netball season resumes!