Friday 10 August 2018 17:13, UK
Surrey Storm have announced the appointment of Mikki Austin as their new Director of Netball for the 2019 season.
Austin joined Surrey Storm in 2015 and played a key role in their back-to-back title-winning seasons in 2015 and 2016. However, the 24-year-old was sidelined for much of last season through injury, making her return in the latter stages of the campaign.
Storm finished seventh in last year's Vitality Netball Superleague and Austin - voted as the fans' player of the year in each of the last three seasons - will be hoping to lead their resurgence next term.
Although this is Austin's first Director of Netball role, she has plenty of previous experience as a Netball Coach at Putney High School, while she also ran one of the Storm academy hubs last season.
"I am thrilled to be appointed as Director of Netball at Surrey Storm and, whilst the new season seems like a long way off at the moment, I cannot wait to get started on our preparations to make it a successful one," said the two-time Superleague winner.
"I am focusing on making sure we can attract some new players to add strength and bolster our already strong squad, so we are ready to compete at the highest level as we aim to compete for a top four spot.
"I have enjoyed every moment of my time with Storm so far, especially as we have enjoyed some great successes which I really want to be part of again; I have big aspirations for what we can achieve and I look forward to building an exciting next generation of Surrey Storm," Austin added.
Austin replaces Tania Hoffman as Storm's Director of Netball, after Hoffman's visa expired at the end of the season.
The former ANZ Championship coach, who worked as an assistant coach for New Zealand outfit Central Pulse, led Storm to fifth and seventh-place finishes in her two seasons at the helm.
"Since arriving here in 2015, Austin has been a stalwart of the Storm squad, bringing not only talent, but a real passion and desire to succeed on behalf of the team," said Gavin Baker- Storm's director of Sport.
"Her love of the game is clear for everyone to see with Storms' tag line of #BleedBlue being a natural personification.
"Her appointment will help raise Storms profile to a wider audience, not just in Surrey, but nationally. I firmly believe she will be an asset to us both on and off the court."
Stick with us through the off-season as we reflect on the campaign, track the England internationals and the latest player movements ahead of a huge 2019 which will feature another thrilling Superleague season and the Netball World Cup.
You can now receive all the latest Vitality Superleague news and more on your personal devices. The Sky Sports mobile app will keep you up to date with the latest news from your favourite sports, including netball - here's how to receive the alerts you want.
