Monday 20 April 2020 16:52, UK
Serena Guthrie joined Caroline Barker and Tamsin Greenway on Sky Sports' Off The Court and discussed the importance of taking time out, the opportunity awaiting England's Vitality Roses in 2022, and gardening!
In October last year, England's 2019 Netball World Cup captain announced that she would be stepping away from the court for a year in order to have time to recharge after playing elite netball for her club and country since the age of 16.
The 18 months prior to last year's Netball World Cup saw her return from Sydney to Bath, play in the Vitality Netball Superleague and then lead England at a home competition. Only after, it was known that a six-month bout of glandular fever added to the weight of pressure on her shoulders.
Right now, like everyone else in England, Guthrie is remaining at home with her fiancé Bob and shared with Sky Sports the fact that she has thrown herself into a new project.
"I decided to set myself a task which involved going outside into the garden every day. So, I'm growing stuff - I've got parsnips, tomatoes, cucumbers, courgettes and runner beans," she said during the latest episode of Off The Court.
"It's going quite well and I'm surprisingly proud of myself with how it is turning out because I really have no idea [gardening-wise]."
Together Guthrie and her fiancé were planning on getting married in June however that's now been pushed back due to the global pandemic.
"As I'm not playing netball this season, we went with any kind of date which suited both of us. Then, when I sent the invites out all of the girls said, 'Dude, are you serious?' and I didn't realise still that it was the Superleague semi-finals weekend!
"We've had to move it now though and I think actually the new date suits the netballers a lot more, which in hindsight is a good thing because the majority of the people coming to my wedding are netballers!"
It’s gone quickly, from that 15-year-old kid who bumbled in, was super weird, loved life and wanted to play netball for England to now… it’s been one hell of a ride.
With Guthrie having been involved in the game for so long, her netball family is a strong one. Her experiences within the sport have been memorable ones, too, including gold on the Gold Coast and 10 days of competing on home soil last summer.
"It's gone quickly! I never really expected to be stepping out in front of thousands of people as captain at a World Cup," she said. "If someone had told 15-year-old Serena that, I think that I would have laughed them out of the room.
"It's been a great journey and I'm very much looking forward to the next chapter as well and sharing that with the two Bobs."
With regard to the next chapter, it's natural for questions to be flying her way about a definitive return date - after all, she is regarded as one of best mid-courters in world netball.
"It's been amazing having this time away from the game but I'm obviously starting to think about what my re-entry might look like and things like that. We'll see.
"In terms of what's happened with the season, by the time everything starts up again if I am thinking about re-entering then I think it might line-up with me coming back in at quite a nice time. I don't think that I've completely thrown anything off the table in terms of England and Superleague."
"For me, to step back and re-evaluate why I still love the game, what I am particularly passionate about and who I am in and around that has been really important.
"Coming back into the game and physically playing will definitely look a lot different and feel different, to when I was a young kid eight years ago. Then I was starting my career and now, I feel very privileged to have had that time to think about it."
The 30-year-old's passion for netball is undeniable, however, she has appreciated having time away and being fortunate enough to look at what she loves about the game and who she is as a person.
"I've always been an advocate for it (having time to refresh). I think the one thing that I've always had in my favour is that I've been a younger player around a group of older players - players like Tamsin Greenway, Rachel Dunn, Pamela Cookey and Sara Bayman.
"I had such good role models who were asking me to think about different things, looking at what I was doing then and asking me what I'm going to do after netball. All of those questions are really important, and you need to be asked them as an athlete, whether you're an amateur or professional.
"Without them, I think that you can really struggle around the game when you get a bit older. I didn't want to be that athlete. I had a great group of girls around me who always encouraged me to have that other side of me."
Netball's immediate next steps, with regards to domestic netball in England and international competitions, are still unknown.
The Vitality Netball Superleague's initial period of suspension runs until April 30. Resumption scenarios are being discussed but the competition will clearly take direction from the government and all of the measures that are currently in place.
Further in the future, there remains a Commonwealth Games on the cards in 2022 - one that England will be approaching as the defending champions. So, will Guthrie be there?
"Maybe… that's looking really far into the future!" she said.
"What a position for an England team to be in - a really motivational situation to be in.
"You obviously always want to go out there, get into a final and win a medal but defending your own medal on home soil in 2022 is food for thought, isn't it?
"There are going to be a lot of girls putting their hands up for a place at that Commonwealth Games and I think that it's probably going to be one of the toughest selections ever actually."
Watch the full episode of Off The Court on the Sky Sports YouTube channel. As well as speaking to Guthrie, Caroline Barker and Tamsin Greenway catch up with the legendary Sharni Layton who joins from Melbourne, Australia.
