I have never really been a person that suffers from nerves. I am usually able to take things in my stride and the rational part of my brain rules the roost for the most part. However, when Vez (Verity Charles) found me on the verge of tears in the bathroom before our Round 1 game against Adelaide because my hair band had broken, I knew I had a small problem. As all good OCD athletes do, I grabbed my container of 50+ spare hair ties, popped a new one in and got a grip of myself (and my hair!).
I am a big fan of tradition and history and despite the disappointing result of Round 1, which I will not be dwelling on, it was another huge milestone in my career to become Fever player 109 (my favourite number is 9 so I’m pretty happy about that)! I have always been envious of the Diamonds and Silver Ferns as when their players debut for their country they gain a player number and permanent place in their countries netball history. Although I got an engraved medallion when I was first capped for England in 2010 I have no idea where I sit in our history. Now I have a number to call my own and I am already a part of West Coast Fever’s history. Excitingly I now too have a solid platform to build on from Round 1 to begin creating a legacy of my own that I will leave behind.
Having taken on the GIANTS twice in the pre-season with varying degrees of success and watched their Round 1 game against Swifts, their style of play and line ups will be the most familiar challenge that we could hope for in Round 2 to rebound from what was undeniably a squandered opportunity against the Thunderbirds.
With an increasingly busy weekly schedule now the season has started, additional travel, game debriefs, team reviews and extra video analysis sessions it will be crucial that I am able to find the balance of time away from netball to stay sane whilst still feeling prepared for the next challenge.
This week we were lucky enough to secure some tickets to the Perth Wildcats second semi-final home game against the Cairns Taipans. The Wildcats obviously returned to Perth on a high as they hit the visitors hard and led from minute one to 40. In an electric atmosphere the Wildcats fans roared their team through to the 2017 NBL Grand Final where they will be looking to go back-to-back for the second time. Incredibly it will be their sixth Grand Final in eight years and their 13th in the club’s rich history. I definitely fancy a bit of that action and it’s a culture of success we are certainly looking to build here at Fever. I must also say that the huge crowd at Perth Arena was something special and I know we are all looking forward to playing in front of our passionate supporters at the same venue in Round 3.
You can purchase your tickets here!
Frank x
Twitter/Instagram: @StcyJyneFrancis
