LINDA Andrews praised Pamela Cookey’s visit to Jersey as “incredibly inspirational” after the former England Netball captain delivered a series of masterclasses across several age groups within the Jersey Netball Association.
The goal attack’s staggering resumé makes for impressive reading
Capped 114 times for country spanning 11 years, while also being the only player to lay claim to seven league titles during a glittering club career primarily with Team Bath.
All but one of those years with Bath, Cookey played alongside Jersey’s most decorated netball export, Serena Kersten [née Guthrie], and first visited the Island as a 20-year-old.
Andrews, the president of the Jersey Netball Association, said that, despite being a “veteran coach” herself, the wealth of knowledge Cookey offered was “fascinating”.
Andrews, who has been a key figure in Jersey netball for several decades, also spent 20 years as the head coach of Team Jets.
“It was incredibly inspirational,” she said.
“Even for me, as a veteran coach, who has been around netball for many years, is still constantly learning new things.
“It’s fascinating watching great coaches work.
“You can pick up so many little nuggets of information and use that to shape how you structure future sessions.
“We were absolutely thrilled to have her over.”
While Cookey’s career was a success, the 40-year-old endured several hardships along the way, including two lengthy stints on the treatment table with ACL injuries while in the peak of her powers.
Andrews felt her story of adversity was just as valuable as her successes for Jersey’s budding netball stars.
“What she’s [Cookey] has achieved in her life has been incredible,” continued Andrews.
“To see the barriers in her way and the tough times fought through is so valuable for our girls to hear.
“Her two ACL injuries were devastating and there were times where she easily could have given in, because recovery is a long and gruelling process.
“But it was learning about that perseverance and drive to continue and fight for her netball career that stuck with me.
“It’s so important for our youngsters to hear that even the journeys of the world’s best are not in a straight line.
“It’s a life lesson as much as a sporting one and it’s such a key perspective to develop at a young age.”
Jersey netball have been fortunate to have a star of their own to look up to in Serena Kersten, who spent seven successful seasons alongside Cookey at Team Bath, with both going on to captain England.
With Kersten now retired and back in Jersey, she has taken the reins of Team Jets alongside Emily Green in a bid to take the Islanders back to the Premier Leagues of the national netball pyramid.
Andrews added: “Pamela was first over here 20 years ago, when she and Serena were teammates at Bath.
“I think it’s so important for our girls to understand that they can make it.
“It’s easy to think at times that the opportunities are limited in Jersey, compared to being based on the mainland.
“But there are pathways and we are lucky that we have a great one in place for them to access.
“To see the 10/11 year olds just soaking up every word from Pamela and putting it in action was really special.”
However, it was not just the youngsters that Cookey had an impact on, concluding her visit with a coaching session for the senior Team Jets sides.
“To have a different perspective is amazing,” continued Andrews.
“There were so many little pieces of information the girls managed to pick up and stuff to implement into training moving forward.
“To have a different set of eyes ask whether they have tried it this way, or slightly change the focus of a drill was so good to see.
“Having access to these great netballing brains is certainly something we don’t take for granted and hopefully it continues to help our sport grow and keep youngsters in the game through to adult netball.”
