As a participant, Mikki Austin received Surrey Storm’s ‘Participant of the Season’ thrice, and was a part of two title profitable efforts. In 2018, she was confirmed as their new Director of Netball.
The 12 months is now 2022 and Austin’s time on the franchise continues to develop – the brand new season begins in February 2023 and with squad lists being confirmed she has managed to safe the signing of England Roses Layla Gusgoth and Sophie Drakeford-Lewis, and secured Proscovia Peace and Felisitus Kwangwa for an extra season in Surrey. And if a remaining 4 end has been lengthy overdue, Austin has the eagerness and roster to make it occur.
Austin spoke in regards to the strain confronted within the position over time.
“I feel there’s a component of strain that comes together with the territory of simply being a high-level coach or a supervisor in any form of elite-level sports activities surroundings. However I assume I knew that and accepted that and needed that for a very very long time, so it’s simply a kind of issues that comes with the territory.
“Clearly I’m three to 4 seasons into it now, so I really feel a little bit bit extra ready for the insanity. I feel it doesn’t actually ever get any simpler however you simply study to cope with the exhausting stuff a bit higher and I feel over the previous couple of years, I’ve in all probability achieved an OK job at with the ability to be fairly strong to exhausting conditions that this job can throw at you.”
Mikki Austin on courtroom for the Storm. Picture Supplied by Surrey Storm
In order we head into 2023 and the brand new season, the place do you suppose you’re in that stage of the teaching profession?
“Coming into this position once I did, was when Storm had a very robust couple of years and a rebuild that by no means actually occurred. We have been beneath no illusions of how lengthy that course of was going to be and the way robust at occasions that course of was. We at all times spoke internally about how it might take 5 years, and three years in it’s no shock to us that we’ve began to make some headway and inroads into the place we wish to be.”
Austin shared extra on the signing of England worldwide Layla Gusgoth
“I feel for us this 12 months when it comes to our recruitment part and our technique was fairly easy, to be sincere. We knew precisely the gamers that we needed to recruit in what courtroom space. It was simply the case of whether or not we may execute that plan and make it occur.
“And it took some time, a little bit of stress on my behalf, however I used to be actually, actually happy that we executed that precisely the way in which that we needed to. We knew from actually early on the place we needed to fill these positions and who we needed to fill them with, with some actually “A star” netballers, however once more just a few nice human beings who are actually nice trainers, and are incredible personnel to have in and across the surroundings.
“They spearhead the backbone of our workforce with a profitable mentality and I feel that’s actually essential for taking us from the mid-table workforce the place we are actually. Final season we did an awesome job to compete however this season it’s about getting over the road.
“You understand, we wish to make finals, we wish to be a finals workforce and we’re very a lot hoping that the recruitment part we’ve gone by this season with retaining gamers from final 12 months and with gamers like Layla, Sophie and Amy Flanagan it’s gonna assist us try this.
“Everybody who’s donning the duck egg blue gown this season has a reference to somebody. I feel that’s essential.
“There’s going to be ample quantity of alternative for all of our athletes to get publicity on an NSL courtroom and in a coaching surroundings which I’m positive goes to be extremely aggressive. It’s an extended outdated season and issues are sure to occur. You understand, there’ll at all times be accidents and sicknesses.
“I’m nonetheless tremendous having fun with it, nonetheless loving each minute of it, nonetheless feeling extremely grateful and blessed and lucky and fortunate and every other superlative. You might in all probability think about that I’m on this place and I’m arguably one of many extra skilled coaches across the league, which is a bit wild to say contemplating I’m nonetheless not 30 but!”
Mikki Austin in teaching mode. Picture: England Netball
Mikki stays as enthusiastic as ever regardless of being requested about Storms’ end exterior high 4 playoff locations over the past couple of seasons.
“I don’t suppose there’s a single franchise that will sit right here and say that isn’t the identical for them. None of us have a secret recipe in a ebook someplace that tells us find out how to do it. I feel as a lot as we’re hoping for a very optimistic season this 12 months and I feel we’ve lined our bases recruitment-wise to have the ability to try this. You understand, simply because we predict that’s the way in which, it doesn’t imply it’s going to be the way in which and there’s completely no assure on this great world of sport.
“You understand what it’s like, typically on the earth of elite sport, you do every thing proper and you continue to don’t win. That’s simply the way in which that it goes. So simply because you could suppose you deserve it doesn’t imply it occurs, and there’s nothing assured.
“We’ve simply obtained to fret about our controllables, maintain our ft firmly on the bottom, maintain our mentality in the correct headspace and hopefully in some unspecified time in the future, in the direction of the top of the season subsequent 12 months we will likely be the place we wish to be. However what I do know is it’s not going to be for the need of attempting.
“For us this 12 months we have to discover a solution to win, nearly the Thunder mentality, which they have been extremely good ultimately 12 months, the most effective within the league, which is why they went 22 unbeaten even on days that even they’d say by their requirements they weren’t functioning nice and nonetheless so much that they wanted to enhance on, they nonetheless discovered a solution to win, and that’s our job this 12 months, is how can we get to that time, how can we get that mentality?
“So I feel it’s going to be a problem. It’s going to be a special problem to what we’ve had over the past couple of years. However every thing is a headache, isn’t it? There are some complications which might be marginally higher than others, so this will likely be a headache very like every other season.
“And name me a bit sadistic, however I’m type of wanting ahead to it.”
