Salford graduate secures role at Manchester Thunder Netball Team

22-year-old Liz works full-time as a performance analyst at the Manchester Thunder Netball Team after securing an initial placement while studying. The team plays in the Netball Super League (NSL) and has recently had success in both league and cup competitions.

Ahead of Winter Graduation, we sat down with Liz for a chat about her achievements:

What have you enjoyed the most about your course?

The opportunities and close links with sporting teams that was provided. I liked the assignments as well, they were a lot different instead of the usual written reports.

If you could go back and speak to yourself on day one of starting university, what advice would you give yourself?

Just take it one day at a time. Simple as that.

How do you feel you’ve changed throughout your time at Salford?

I feel that I have really evolved as an analyst. When I first joined Salford the only sport I wanted to work within was Taekwondo (which I still coach), however when the opportunity came along from Manchester Thunder it made me realise there were so many more sports out there I could work in. It also helped increase my knowledge as an analyst!

Can you tell us a bit more about your role with Manchester Thunder? What does a typical day look like?

We travel with the team home and away, and record and code the games (a technique used by coaches to record events that happen during a match). Once the game is finished, we upload the game and the correct code within 24 hours so that the coaches can see it but also so that the athletes can do their post-match analysis and get ready for the next game.

Last season we just did the NSL team, but this season we are doing it for the NSL, U23, U19 and U17. It’s a fast-paced environment and I love working at the club.

What industry experience did you get through your course? Do you think this helped you in getting your current role?

The University of Salford really helped me get the placement and relationship with Thunder last season, leading to the club keeping me on for the next few seasons as a performance analyst.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

Hopefully a head analyst for a professional sports team!

You can find out more about the course Liz studied here.