Speaking on the Off the Court Podcast, Tracey Neville opened up on building a franchise with the Melbourne Mavericks and her growth as a coach;
Friday 19 April 2024 23:45, UK
Head coach of the Melbourne Mavericks and former England head coach Tracey Neville has made a big leap in choosing to help build a franchise out in Australia in the Suncorp Super Netball league.
Neville has already had quite the coaching career to date, coaching Team Northumbria, Manchester Thunder and then the Roses from 2015-2019, guiding them to back-to-back bronze medals at the Netball World Cup and a gold medal at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.
After then taking on a role as a specialist coach and performance operations director for the Vitality Netball Super League, Neville made the leap to go and coach out in Australia.
Going from the assistant coach role at the Adelaide Thunderbirds to head coach role of a new franchise in the Melbourne Mavericks, Neville has made another massive step up in her career, especially as an English coach in the Australian league leading the newest team on the block.
"I need a place to grow and this is a franchise," Neville told Off the Court.
"If you look at all the established franchises around the world, they may not win it every year but they can keep their players at a franchise for 10 years.
"The longevity of that is so important so when we were moving players here it wasn't just about moving players here, it was about moving their lives here.
"It was about establishing their life in Melbourne so they never had to leave here unless they had to."
One of the things Neville is enjoying most about working out in Australia is the high performance environment that is afforded to her and the female athletes, something that she has seen her footballer brothers, Gary and Phil Neville, thrive in since they were young.
Now, she hopes to see English netball, as it enters it's professional era, grow to a place where similar facilities become the norm.
"I want to work. I am so hungry to be back head coaching again. I know this year that there is going to have to be sacrifices - there are long periods of time I am not going to see my son, there are long periods of time I am not going to see my family but we have made it work as a family," Neville added.
"I absolutely love doing what I am doing. I love being in a high performance environment and I love every day going to work and that is something that I have seen Gary and Phil (Neville) do since the age of 16.
"For me, this is exactly where I want women's sport to go.
"I want everyone to feel like every day you are going out to do the passion that you love and Australia gives me that.
"If I showed you the facilities I am in at the moment, there is four courts down there that are ours.
"Would you get that in England? I just hope one day that we do."
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