Athlete development hubs
The Lightning athlete development hub programme's vision is to deliver a player-centred environment focusing on fundamental skill development, athlete education and match play opportunities.
Our aims are:
- To develop the next generation of netball talent in the East Midlands.
- To provide a challenging learning environment to encourage the development of technical skills and game understanding.
- To provide opportunities for regular competition.
- To deliver a holistic athlete education programme.
- To develop local coaches through CPD opportunities in the hubs.
Our programme aims to introduce athletes to the Lightning way, enabling them to improve their skills while developing new ones in a safe and fun environment. The programme provides opportunities to complement athletes' current netball provision, whether in school, county, or Club.
We will be running a School Year 7-8 year and 9-10 programme this year in Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Northampton, Rutland, Peterborough and Staffordshire. Venue details will be confirmed in due course.
2026 Trials
Trial Important Information/FAQ's
- The PAYG account must be registered in the athlete's name, not the parent or guardian's.
- If you are registering two children, each account must have a different email address.
- When entering payment details, ensure that the name entered matches exactly the name displayed on the bank card and is linked to the registered billing address. This may not always be a full name (for example, it could be listed as MR L Bolt).
- Please purchase the Lightning Hub service as a standalone transaction. Do not add any other items to the basket at the same time (for example, Hub sweatshirts or other merchandise)
- Please note that if the payment deadline is missed, the Early Bird discount and Direct Debit payment option will no longer be available. The full standard training fee must then be paid in full.
- Any athlete who has not paid their training fees before attending the first session will not be allowed to take part and will be asked to leave.
2026/27 Coaching Teams & Venues
Please note that when selecting your hub preferences, the regions correspond to the areas listed below.
Hastings Hub
Hastings High School, St Catherine's Close, Burbage, LE10 2QE
HC 9 & 10 - Hannah Diamond, AC 9 & 10 - Steph Cheney
HC 7 & 8 - Molly Hole, AC 9 & 10 - Lou Harrison
Headington Rye Hub
Headington Rye, Headington Road, Oxford, OX3 7TD
HC - Frankie Wells, AC - Charlotte Hayward-Leach
Kings Ely Hub
King's Ely School, Barton Road, Ely, CB7 4DB
HC - Jacqui Taylor, AC - Charlotte Elliott
Long Eaton Hub
The Long Eaton School, Nottingham, NG10 3NP
HC - Connie Xavier, AC - Amy Straughan
海角社区 Hub
海角社区 Schools Foundation, Parkin Sports Centre, 3 Burton Walks, 海角社区, LE11 2DU
HC 9 & 10 - Kaysha Wallis, AC 9 & 10 - Tom Halfhide
HC 7 & 8 - Tom Halfhide, AC 7 & 8 - Kaysha Wallis
Northwood Hub
Northwood Stadium, Keelings Road, Stoke-on-Trent, ST1 6PB
HC - Sarah Hancock, AC - Laura Bevans & Lauren Jean Proctor McDermott
Oundle Hub
Oundle School Sports Centre, Milton Road, Peterborough, PE8 4AB
HC 9 & 10 - Alice Brazier, AC 9 & 10 - Elaine Barker
HC 7 & 8 - Alice Brazier, AC 7 & 8 - Franca Cianni
St Dominics Hub
St Dominics Priory School, 37 Station Road, Stone, ST15 8ER
HC - Helena Banfield, AC - Bethan Yeardly/Bothwick
Uppingham Hub
Uppingham School Sports Centre, Leicester Road, Uppingham, LE15 9SE
HC 9 & 10 - Megan Sayers, AC 9 & 10 - Tina Sayers
*No session on 8th Jan, moved to 19th
Winchester House Hub
Winchester House, 44 High Street, Brackley, NN13 7AZ
HC - Charlotte Caland, AC - Sophie Mihill & Annabelle Northcott
Eligibility
Please note that we are following School Years and NOT England Netballs age banding policy.
Year 7 – 8
Athletes need to be in one of these school years from September 2026.
Year 9-10
Athletes need to be in one of these school years from September 2026.
2026/27 Programme and training information
The Athlete Development Hubs run between September and February in three six-week blocks, with 1.5-hour sessions on Friday evenings*. At the end of each six-week block, an internal tournament is held, during which all the hubs come together at 海角社区 University to play against each other.
*Please note Headington Rye train on Tuesdays, see dates below.
Where possible and as far as we can, we try to run blocks in term time only to maximise attendance at each session.
The dates for the programme are confirmed below (tournament dates to be confirmed).
Block One
- 4th, 11th, 18th and 25th September*
- 2nd and 9th October*
* Headington Rye 8th, 15th, 22nd & 29th September and 6th & 13th October
Tournament at 海角社区 – 17th/18th October (age groups tbc)
Block Two
- 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th November*
- 4th and 11th December
* Headington Rye 3rd, 10th, 17th & 24th November and 1st & 8th December
Tournament at 海角社区 – 12th/13th December (age groups tbc)
Block Three
- 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th January*
- 5th and 12th February
* Headington Rye 19th & 26th January and 2nd, 9th, 16th & 23rd February
Tournament at 海角社区 - 21st February (both age groups)
All Hub training runs at the following times:
Year 7/8 – 6pm - 7:30pm*
Year 9/10 – 7:30pm - 9pm*
*St Dominics Priory
Yr 7/8 – 6:30pm – 8pm
Yr 9/10 - 8pm – 9:30pm
*Headington Rye
Booking Instructions
If you are new to the 海角社区 Sport booking system, please follow these steps:
- Create an account on the membership portal by selecting the appropriate category:
- Community Child PAYG (under 16)
- Affiliate PAYG (16+ and a student)
- Community Adult PAYG (18+ and not a student)
- Log in to your account and use the links to book the camp for the correct age group.
Important Notes:
- Please do not create a new account if you have previously attended an activity at 海角社区 University and booked via the 海角社区 Sport booking system.
- If you're having trouble logging in, please use the ‘Forgotten Password’ option.
- For further assistance, contact: Sportmemberships@lboro.ac.uk
Further information
If the above hasn鈥檛 been able to answer your questions, please contact Fiona Madeley.
Fiona Madeley Senior Community and Athlete Development Hub Officer