Lauren Palmer loving the ride as Netball Super League head coach

Every athlete has a coach who inspired them, and Lauren Palmer does not need to look far for hers.

An associate dentist by trade, the 33-year-old is the youngest head coach in the Netball Super League this season and earned her current role with NIC Leeds Rhinos following spells with Manchester Thunder and England's Future Roses.

There, she was able to learn from the likes of Karen Greig, Jess Thirlby, and Tracey Neville and Palmer admits she could not have imagined better places to cut her teeth.

“I started coaching when I was about 18 for a local club coaching their under-9s and under-10s,” said Palmer.

“I was at university at the time and I had picked up a few injuries as a player that brought playing to a halt but I love netball and wanted to still be involved so I started doing that.

“I’m quite competitive and always striving to be better so I started to work with that group as they got older and had a bit of success at county and regional level.

“I do enjoy dentistry but netball is now a viable career option so I ended up with Manchester Thunder for four years as their pathway lead coach and did a bit with England before moving to Rhinos.

“Having been at Thunder for so long, Karen Greig played a big part in my coaching as she used to coach me as a player so you can see similarities in our coaching styles.

“From being part of the England environment, Jess [Thirlby] and Sonia [Mkoloma] have also had a big influence and I was lucky enough to watch some of Tracy Neville’s sessions so they’re the key figures who have shaped my coaching.

“I've just tried to take the best bits of all of them and put my own personal spin on it.”

Palmer has enjoyed a steady start to her Netball Super League coaching career, despite a whirlwind start that saw her brought into the role just weeks before the start of the season.
A run to the Netball Super Cup final, where they were defeated by London Pulse, was a good early sign and regular season wins against LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons and Birmingham Panthers have followed.

She added: “As a coach you know your limitations and although I am the youngest in the Super League, the transition has felt seamless.

“I was a little bit nervous going into the first session but because I'd been in and around that environment at Manchester Thunder and I coached a lot of the girls with England futures, I was quietly confident that I could deliver.

“The girls had a turbulent time in pre-season and I wanted to see if we could turn it around.

“Reaching the final of the Super Cup took us a back a little, but it gave us confidence coming into the season.

“We’ve done well in the majority of the games, there’ve only been a few where we came away frustrated.

“For me, we’ve been the team that has run everyone close but couldn’t get over the line and that’s something we want to improve on.”

It's clear that Palmer is loving life at the club, helped in part by the opportunity to coach the likes of Geva Mentor, Joyce Mvula and Cassie Howard week-in, week-out.

She said: “Walking into an environment with seasoned professionals like Geva and Joyce, and where I didn't know that many faces, was a little daunting but everyone at Rhinos has been so welcoming and that was huge for me.

“The club created a really good environment and I'm loving every second of it.

“Everyone gets access to the same amount of my time and resources but there is a difference in how you talk to someone at the start of their career compared to the end.

“With someone like Geva you’ve got to give her respect, what she has done in her career is phenomenal and not many people have achieved what she has.

“She has been so open and receptive to ideas. The Super Shot is something new in England but she knows it from playing in SSN [Suncorp Super Netball] and it has been really good bouncing ideas off of her.”

With the NSL in full swing and fixtures coming thick and fast, Palmer unwinds from the rigours of the campaign with her other career as a dentist.

Palmer revealed: “I was always academic at school and my mum was always saying that I couldn't go to netball until I’d done my homework.

“She worked in the NHS, and I always wanted to do something similar. I was torn between medicine and dentistry and I did work experience in both sectors but I enjoyed dentistry more.

“I really liked working with people and just being hands on with treatments. I do enjoy having a dual career and I think it gives me something different.

“Some people would take a day off to switch off, mine is to come in and do some dentistry."

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