Friday 13 March 2020 18:10, UK
In her latest column, George Fisher talks juggling uni and netball as well as reflecting on Saracens Mavericks' start to the season...
Wow, where has the last month gone! Last time I left you was to start my dissertation, still very much a work in progress!
It is progressing, maybe a little slower than I had hoped! I've never had to be so organised in my life before, even surprising myself with a tidy room for the past few weeks. If you know me you know this is very unusual!
I'm learning to juggle sporting commitments, training and my studies and will hopefully be able to complete my final year at University and actually get a degree!
This is something that I probably would not have been able to achieve if it wasn't for my sport, as this actually helped me get my place at uni and with the awesome support that Hatfield University have given me I'm well on my way to achieving.
I'm dyslexic so really struggle with academic stuff, lucky I have discovered spell check for my assignments and blogs.
Due to my England/Superleague training programmes I am unable to attend many lectures, but my tutors meet up with me regularly on a one-to-one basis to assist me with understanding my studies. Much appreciated! Special shout out to you all!
I was really looking forward to the VNSL season opener back in February and what an amazing event it was. It was so well organised and felt like it brought so much more than a usual match day! I absolutely loved the fire when entering the arena, it was real and you could really feel the heat.
I was amazed at the amount of netball loving spectators there. The stadium was full right from the first game through to the last, people really made a day of it, which is great for the growth of our sport.
My Mum's netball team came and turned it into a girls, well "ladies", weekend away in Birmingham so really made the most of it. The atmosphere was amazing, the supporters loud and proud. Really a massive thank you to all of the supporters, volunteers and people behind the scenes that made this an awesome day. It certainly did not disappoint!
We had a bit of a slow start to our first game against Severn Stars, we were all so excited to get our Superleague season started but I think the excitement turned in to a bit of nerves and that got the better of us in the first quarter.
Thankfully, we woke up and started playing like we had been doing in our preseason and from being six goals down in the first quarter went on to win by 21 goals so all good in the end.
Second match was away against Wasps, although it was great to see my old teammates and be back at the Ricoh, it's always a hard game playing your forma team. Great friends off court but once you step on court the friendship ends until the final whistle!
Unfortunately, we made too many errors in the opening quarter and despite a late comeback, we were unable to finish with a win. So disappointing! But you learn from these games.
The matches are coming thick and fast and in the third round we faced Stars again. It was our first home game and was a total sell out. Mavericks even had to arrange extra seating to accommodate our supporters.
The atmosphere was electric and we knew that Stars would bring their A game to us after our last encounter. It was not the prettiest of games but we pushed forward and took the win and I was awarded player of the match, which is always an honour.
Round Four sees us up against Loughborough Lightning on Monday 16 March (live on Sky Sports) but before that I need to concentrate on this Wednesday's BUCS semi-final when we will be playing University of Loughborough.
This will be a tough game as a few of their Superleague players also play for the University but we have a strong squad and will go out to try and get that win. We are reigning BUCS champions for the past two years so would love to make it a hat-trick. The game is at 4pm at HSV if anyone fancies popping down to support. All welcome and it's free!
Although it's early days, this year's Superleague is already proving to be a much closer competition than in previous seasons, which is so much more exciting for the spectators.
I think only having 10 on the bench has contributed to this as some players have moved to different teams this season, which has spread the talent around. Sure, as it continues there will be many more 'surprises' which just adds to the entertainment factor.
Catch up soon!
Live coverage of the Vitality Netball Superleague season continues on Monday, March 16 when Loughborough Lightning host Saracens Mavericks. Join us on Sky Sports Arena, Mix and YouTube from 6.45pm
