Nancy Celebrates Success in Rugby and Athletics

Having just been selected for the England Rugby Development programme, Year 11’s Nancy has very good reason to be proud of herself and her achievements of late when it comes to commitment and progression in sport.  

Having played rugby for Ipswich U16 since she was 10 years old, Nancy was recently selected to not only play for but to Captain Eastern Counties Rugby U16 team; and it was there she was seen and selected for the England Rugby Development programme.  A six week schedule which includes meal planning and a personal trainer, Nancy was obviously delighted to have been selected from over 60 players all hoping for a place which could ultimately end with her being chosen to play for England U16 team. 

This latest success has been the icing on the cake for Nancy, having trained two nights a week every week over the summer, as well as competing at weekends for hammer and shotput.  Recently she’s celebrated throwing her longest ever hammer throw at County Athletics in Oxford, increasing her throw by 3m to a distance of 46.3m, taking her into the top 10 rankings that month for the U17 English hammer.   

But it doesn’t end there, Nancy is also currently in the top 25 for shotput, and the top 20 for discuss in England.  Nancy explained her drive and motivation comes from the feeling she gets when she achieves, “I really enjoy the sense of achievement I get, coming off the pitch, being congratulated, knowing I’ve tried my best – and it’s paid off!  That feeling I get when I’m running with the ball, the crowd are there supporting the team and we’re working together to win – I love that and that’s what I think of when I’m training hard!”