While the revamped NSL means steps are being made to ensure that netball could be a viable career path for aspiring players now, the reality is that salary caps mean many players are still juggling jobs or studies with their netball careers.
Manchester Thunder head coach Karen Greig said the league is “nowhere near professional yet”, adding that eight of her 10 players also have full-time jobs.
At Forest, some are able to commit fully to their netball career – they are often the ones who also play for England – while others also work or study.
Captain Naimh Cooper, who commutes to Bristol where she works part-time as a doctor, said she feels “lucky to have the flexibility” – but would not turn down the opportunity to become a full-time netballer.
“To be part of a fully professional league is something I wouldn’t be able to turn down,” she said.
“We’re on that journey to professionalisation and if that offer was to be made it’s something I would consider.”
England player Pavelin, who has put her accounting career on hold to pursue netball full-time, said: “I’ve got something to fall back on when you have to retire from netball at a youngish age – it’s something that I can go back to in the future.”
Pavelin had a job alongside playing for Team Bath last year, who were not granted a place in the revamped NSL, but one of Pitman’s stipulations for Forest’s players is that they live in Nottingham – so she opted to move.
“Being able to tell my parents I could do it full-time, with the time that they’ve sacrificed driving me back and forth, sometimes two hours to training when I was younger, is nice,” said Pavelin.
“For them to be able to see it actually turn into a career is nice for them to see as well as obviously amazing for me to be a part of.”
