England Netball Adventure for Marist Student Suzie

19 October 2018

Suzie Liverseidge, a student from The Marist School, Sunninghill, has participated on a two-week tour of a lifetime to Australia with the England U17 Netball squad.

Marist Sports Captain Suzie, aged 17, forms part of the England Roses Academy programme and was selected for the extraordinary tour only a month after receiving her first England Cap in June 2018 playing against Wales.

Suzie, who now forms part of the England U19 National Academy squad, joined 11 other team mates from across the country on the tour to Australia. The squad stayed at the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) for the duration of the trip and played nine games against teams from both Australia and New Zealand.

Speaking about her Australian adventure, Suzie said,

 “It was an incredible opportunity to challenge ourselves with the Australian and New Zealand styles of netball and it was amazing to experience success against some of the best teams in the world. The accommodation and facilities of the AIS were phenomenal!” 

Throughout her two-week stay at the AIS, Suzie and her team mates took part in a rigorous training and competition schedule and experienced the fantastic opportunity of staying at the elite athletes’ village. They used state-of-the-art facilities for both training and playing, including the use of their elite level recovery suites and video analysis software.

Mrs Jen Bishopp, Head of PE at The Marist School spoke about Suzie’s success,

“We are unbelievably proud of all that Suzie has achieved in the recent years, balancing her elite netball training alongside her GCSE and A Level studies. Not only is Suzie a fantastic role model she also gives back to the department and inspires future players as well.

Just 48 hours after returning to the UK, she was back in school coaching our junior netballers at lunchtime and she has established an early morning S&C session for girls in Key Stage 3 and 4. Suzie clearly demonstrates that it’s not just about how you play and the level you play at, it’s also about how you inspire and help others to reach their own level of excellence.”