Lisa Alexander joins London Pulse as CEO Netball news

Former Australian Diamonds head coach Lisa Alexander joins Vitality Netball Superleague London Pulse

Lisa Alexander has been appointed the new CEO of London Pulse when she joins CEO Sam Bird to lead the ambitious Vitality Netball Superleague series.

In February 2020, it was announced that Alexander’s contract The head coach of Australian Diamonds will not be renewed by the Netball Australian government. He had led the Australian national team for over eight years and had become the most embellished Diamonds head coach of all time.

Alexander ended his term with a 81 percent victory record (83 wins out of 102 tests) and had led the team to several major medals, including gold medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2014 and the Netball World Cup in 2015.

Most recently, Diamonds had won silver medals at the Commonwealth Games in 2018 and the 2019 Vitality Netball World Cup.

“Lisa’s experience brings with it the extra platform and performance that happens every day behind the lights,” Bird said Sky Sports’ Caroline Barker.

– This is a job that comes before you see us at Sky Sports, and it makes a difference.

“It’s really exciting. Apparently, because there are so many young English players on our team, we want to develop them so we can start hitting Australians and kiwis!”

London Pulse ranks among the country’s best young talent, including 19-year-old Funmi Fadoju (Photo: Ben Lumley)

“The world is definitely their oyster,” Alexander added. “It’s part of a plan to develop real resilience that top athletes need to be absolutely top notch.

“It’s hard work and part of it is the discipline of learning what high performance is all about. It makes difficult yards when no one is watching and may not get a reward right away.

– We need to harness the dreams of these young athletes at Pulse in London and help guide and shape the next generation of English roses that will consistently win the championship as they should be.

“Indeed, given the population of England and the number of players playing volleyball in England – which will rise – it is expected that England will win world championships, Commonwealth Games gold medals and possibly Olympic gold medals [in the future].

London Pulse players benefit from the experience of both Sam Bird and Lisa Alexander (Photo: Ben Lumley)

“We have to dream so big. London Pulsen also have to dream big, winning the Vitality Netball Superleague. It’s important that we have really high goals and aspirations, but at the end of the day, my job with Sam is to help guide young athletes down this path.”

So how did this new partnership between Bird and Alexander come about? It was actually born out of the world of social media and Twitter messaging.

Both women had been communicating for some time about different players and elements of the game before the conversation shifted to something more serious and Alexander’s chances of joining Pulse.

“It just blew me away; I hadn’t even thought about it and I didn’t know it was an option, because of course Sam is London Pulse’s head coach, so I thought they already had a coach!”

London Pulse are an ever-expanding and ambitious Vitality Netball Superleague series (Photo: Ben Lumley)

As the conversations became more serious, Alexander quickly realized it was an “exciting offer,” and despite exploring other options in the UK, he focused on the way forward with Pulse.

– It’s the kind of role that’s exactly right for me at this point in my career in netball and for me personally [too]. “

Bird and Alexander have already been honest with each other and have a good idea of ​​what’s to come.

“I was able to ask Sam directly who the boss is basically for the lack of a better word! In today’s leadership environments, leadership is often guided by teams, but at the end of the day someone has to make the final decision. Understand it very well as a former head coach.

“So as the CEO, yes, I’m Sam’s boss in the world of Netball. In the world of business and sports, London Pulse, Sam is my boss, because he’s the CEO.

“I think it’s a really interesting and creative way to work together. We make it work because we’re both motivated to make it work. We’ve both done our homework for each other to think too!”

Alexander’s move to London allows him and his husband Malcolm to be closer to their sons, one living in London and the other in Italy.

Friend and colleague professional head coach Eddie Jones also lives here because he has a role with English rugby and Alexander knows he’s eager to join forces.

“It’s going to be great. We’re definitely going to leverage Edd’s knowledge as much as we can. He’ll be happy to watch us coach netball because he learns a lot from it, and I guess he’ll invite us here, too.”

London Pulse seeks to capitalize on the work of previous seasons (Photo: Ben Lumley)

Like Jones, Alexander’s contacts are full of excellent professional athletes, and as often happens, the minds of many fans shift to the “big import” he may or may not demand.

Both Alexander and Bird have the same view of imported players because they need to have a clear role in the club.

– I’m always worried about a club that only relies on imports, I don’t think it always happens [works well], “Alexander said.

“I have pretty good examples of watching Super Netball in Australia, especially when comparing Sunshine Coast Lightning and its development to Collingwood.

“Collingwood really tried to put a bunch of imports / masters together, but it not only worked. However, Sunshine Coast Lightning deliberately went out and not only used local talent, but also married the wonderful imports of that time, which was Geva Mentor at the time and Caitlin Bassett.

“So I’m developing talent. I’ve always been attached to it, and this thing inspires me the most about this opportunity; it’s to work with young English talents.

“I have some idea of ​​how it’s done, my Australian training and pedigree as a coach, but I’m also excited to know what English knows and understands about coaching and paths.”

“Vitality Netball Superleague has been saying for a few years that it wants to be stronger and better. We may have thought about a year ago that the right way to do this is to get the best people involved,” Bird said.

“It’s been talked about a lot, but someone has to start doing something [strengthening the league]. We lose the best players especially for Suncorp, but George Fisher also plays in New Zealand.

“For us, it’s about setting the best coaching and performance platform so that players stay here, evolve here.

“When they come in at the age of 14, I would like their ambition to be that they want to play in London Pulse and win the Super League, and then I want to win for Roses. Instead of watching the pond all the time automatically play abroad.”

Bird and Alexander’s next stop announces the team they have chosen for the upcoming Vitality Netball Superleague season.