By Jamie Thomas
Hearing the Head Coach of an as-yet-undefeated team in WBBL Championship action talk so frequently about getting even better is quite the statement.
That is the yardstick that Vanessa Ellis is setting for the Sheffield Hatters as she confesses she’s pleased with the team’s start but expresses confidence that there is so much more to come from the team as the season progresses. We caught up with her to find out more.
“You’ve got to be pleased with our start in the league so far – we’re obviously unbeaten so you can’t ask for much more. We were disappointed to lose in the Cup semi-finals, I thought we were too timid in our performance and didn’t really play enough disruptive defence to cause them problems and they could just do what they wanted, but we’ll work on that and keep getting better.
“We set our goals at the start of the season and to be in the top three was our aim, and if you’re in the top league in the country then why wouldn’t you want to aim to be up at the top? We’re going to have a go, we’ve got a lot of development ahead of us, but we’re on the right track.
“We’ve got a lot of room to grow and improve, I think, and the players and myself see that. We’re pleased with what we’ve done and what we’ve got but we all want to be better. Not in a negative way, we know we’ve done well, but in a positive way we want to do even better, and we’ll work hard to get there.”
“Hopefully as we develop this season … we can maintain the same standards against the better teams.”
Intense defence has certainly been a cornerstone of the Hatters’ success this year, as they’ve suffocated teams at times in the WBBL Championship on the way to their undefeated record so far, and it has been impressive to see that defensive prowess develop amongst a group that is relatively new to each other.
Ellis expanded on the ‘attitude’ that the roster has brought to the floor this season, the standards that have been set and where there is room to grow going forward.
“What has been most pleasing is how the team has come together on the court, because it is a very new group with really only Helen (Naylor) and Naomi (Campbell) having played consistently together before, so the way our chemistry has developed has been really exciting.
“Everybody has brought the right attitude as well, wanting to improve and work hard and recognise where the work needs to be done, so for me as a coach that has been really nice and made it easier and it has all happened very naturally as well, which bodes well for success in the future.
“We do spend a lot of our time in training on our defence and that is a strong foundation for us, and it is all about getting our players to buy into that mindset of hustle and disruption. We’ve done well with it so far, but hopefully as we develop this season we can get to a point where we can maintain the same standards against the better teams and keep taking steps forward.”
“If we want to be successful this season, we’ve got to beat these teams at some point.”
Whilst a first defeat in all competitions of the season came last weekend against the London Lions in the WBBL Cup semi-finals, which was understandably very disappointing for the Hatters, there were certainly lessons and positives to take from the performance.
A slow start to the game made Sheffield’s chances of success significantly more difficult, but there were good spells for the club in the game that the Hatters couldn’t quite take advantage of, and the Head Coach elaborated on how important last weekend’s experience will be in the context of the season.
“We’ve got to take some positives from it, though. The Lions are the favourites to win everything this year for a reason, but there are two or three teams out to challenge them and we want to be one of them. Hannah Shaw for her first game did really well, and at times we showed what we could do but against the best teams you’ve got to have those good spells all the time.
“Everything came from the start, I thought, but it has taught everybody a valuable lesson that you’ve got to bring the intensity and the effort right from the start and face the challenge, but unfortunately we didn’t. It is a big learning curve, and we will learn from this for sure.
“If we want to be successful this year, though, we’ve got to beat the Lions or the Suns and teams like that at some point to win those trophies. There are going to be tough games on the way to those goals, and competing with the best in the league is something we’ve got to get better at but also be excited about.”
“To be here and competing on the court is very special.”
After a hiatus from the court last season due to the pandemic, to see the Hatters back on the floor – regardless of how well they’re competing – is a fantastic achievement for all involved in the club, and Ellis is thoroughly enjoying being back in amongst it as she discussed the significance of the club’s 60th anniversary season.
“To be back on the court for our 60th year and to be having some success so far is amazing. Betty (Codona OBE) and many of the volunteers have put so much time and effort in last year to make sure that we were here and ready to compete on the court for this season, and it is a great achievement in itself to be here.
“We don’t get support from any big organisation to any extent – just little bits of sponsors here and there that we’re very grateful for – and we fundraise a lot ourselves to run what is primarily a voluntary club, so to be here and competing on the court is very special.
“I really enjoyed my season last year in Austria with a great group of players and coaches, but it is so great to be back. It is a big year for the club and I am very grateful to have this opportunity to be here and be a part of that.”