The NSW Swifts are pleased to announce that former captain Abbey McCulloch and up-and-coming pathway coach Jen Wright have been added to the coaching team for the 2020 QBE Swifts Academy Program.
McCulloch, who played two Grand Finals with the Swifts in 2015 and 2016 before going on to captain the team in 2017 and 2018, has been earning her coaching accreditations since retiring from elite netball and is eager to share her wealth of knowledge with NSW’s next wave of talent.
Wright, meanwhile, has forged a strong reputation with coaching success in the Netball NSW Premier League and in the NSW underage pathway with State Teams.
Both McCulloch and Wright will act as Assistant Coaches to Lenore Blades who was last year announced as Head Coach.
Launched with the backing of Netball NSW and the NSW Swifts’ principal partner QBE Insurance, the QBE Swifts Academy will look to strengthen the foundations of one of the sport’s most celebrated clubs by providing further pathway opportunities to aspiring players from across the state.
The Academy provides a daily training environment for home-grown NSW athletes who have the potential to play for the club in the future.
NSW Swifts Executive General Manager Nikki Horton said she we was delighted to have such an experienced duo joining the coaching ticket.
“I would firstly like to congratulate Abbey and Jen on their respective appointments in the QBE Swifts Academy,” she said.
“Jen has a very impressive track record in our coaching pathway, particularly in the Netball NSW Premier League, which was setup back in 2016 as a means of highlighting coaches, as well as players, who we felt had the potential to progress in the high performance space.
“And in Abbey we have a player turned coach who commands huge respect. As a former captain of the Swifts she is in some pretty special company and I think having the chance to learn from a person who has reached the top level of game is pretty special for our Academy athletes.”
The QBE Swifts Academy will contest the Deakin University Australian Netball League later in the year, replacing the Netball NSW Waratahs as the feeder team to the NSW Swifts.
