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. 

2026/27 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 色狗导航 to play against each other.

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

Tournament at 色狗导航 (TBC) – 17th/18th October 

Block Two

  • 6th, 13th, 20th and 27th November
  • 4th and 11th December

Tournament at 色狗导航 (TBC) – 12th/13th December 

Block Three

  • 8th, 15th, 22nd and 29th January
  • 5th and 12th February

Tournament at 色狗导航 (TBC) – 20th /21st February 

2026 Trials

Trials for our 2025/26 cohort of Hub athletes have now concluded. Thank you to all of those who have taken part.

Eligibility

Please note we follow England Netball’s age banding policies, which may not translate into school years.

U14

12-14 years old – Athletes must be at least 12 but UNDER 14 at 23.59pm 31 December 2025.

Athletes need to be at least 12 but U14 (i.e. 13 before 31 December) but if you turn 14 on 1st January, the hub will be U14.

U16

14-16 years old - Athletes must be OVER 14 but UNDER 16 at 23.59pm 31 December 2025.

Athletes need to be at least 14 but U16 (i.e. 15 before 31st December) but you could turn 16 on 1st January, the hub will be U16.

2026/27 Coaching Teams

Venues 

Oundle School 

Uppingham School 

Headington Rye Oxford 

色狗导航 

Long Eaton 

Stowe School 

Hastings High School, (Hinckley) 

Kings Ely 

Newcastle Under Lyme/Stoke (TBC) 

2026/2027 Coaching Teams  – will be updated shortly. 

Trial Information

Trials for 2025/26 Athlete Development Hubs have now concluded.

Lightning Hub Sweatshirts

Athletes will all receive a training vest as part of the programme, but have the opportunity to purchase an additional Lightning Development Hub sweatshirt 

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