Former England netball captain Serena Kersten encouraging youngsters to take up the sport

Former England netball captain Serena Kersten - formerly Serena Guthrie - is helping youngsters get into the sport by launching a youth project back home in Jersey.

The ten-week programme, called Youth Nets, will start on 14 September, with another block planned for the spring.

Islanders as young as 11 will be invited to try it out, with the sessions focusing on inclusion and development.

Speaking to ITV News, Kersten said: "We want to get as many young, aspiring netballers as possible through the doors into Jersey netball.

"Ultimately, we want to develop them to become as good a netballer as they can be. That all starts at the grassroots level. It's got to be fun, it's got to be energetic, it's got to be vibrant.

"I think it's come at a good time, post-Covid, looking at a few things we can do just to increase our offering on the island and have a wider outreach to everybody."

The 32-year-old has recently relocated back to the Channel Islands after retiring from the game, having been appointed as new performance lead at the Jersey Netball Association.

She's one of the best known sporting stars to come out of Jersey - a former England captain, she won over 100 caps for her country and was part of the team that won gold at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The majority of her career was spent playing for Team Bath, but she also enjoyed spells at Northern Mystics in New Zealand, and Giants Netball in Australia.

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