Barnsley College becomes Leeds Rhinos training hub

The Sports Academy will act as the southern hub for Leeds Rhinos’ Under 13 and Under 15 Regional Academy training programme providing a performance pathway for gifted players in the Barnsley region.

Leeds Rhinos will also run its new Futures Hub for 16-19-year-old athletes from the College’s Sports Academy starting in late September.

The Leeds Rhinos Academy is part of England Netball’s pathway programme for Yorkshire and the Humber and offers high performance training to athletes aspiring to play at the national level.

With state-of-the-art facilities including two sports halls with performance-standard sprung flooring, two fitness centres fully equipped for strength and conditioning work and a sports psychology lab running the latest performance analysis software, the Sports Academy was the selected facility for the Yorkshire netball club.

Anna Carter, Leeds Rhinos’ Director of Netball, said: “The Sports Academy at Barnsley College is one of the leading education providers for performance sport courses in Yorkshire.

“Barnsley proved the ideal choice for the Rhinos programme both geographically and logistically. Finding the right facility is key to a successful programme and, whilst we have strong relationships in Leeds and the north of our region, we began speaking with Barnsley College with a view to securing a space to accommodate athletes in the south.

“We have a large region to cover and we were conscious the talent towards the south side of the region have too far to travel. We have a responsibility to our athletes across the whole of Yorkshire to provide the space to develop that talent further.”

Luke Forgione, Sport and Athlete Development Co-ordinator at Barnsley College, added: “We are absolutely thrilled to be working in partnership with Leeds Rhinos Netball. They will join the Vitality Netball Superleague in 2021, the elite netball competition in the UK. Therefore, to secure a partnership with a club of their stature is a testament to the excellent facilities and continued progression we keep making at the Sports Academy.

“We are keen to engage future netballers and give them the opportunity to improve their ability by providing a fantastic sporting and education experience. This new partnership will only strengthen our netball provision and offer a performance pathway for talented players in the local area to progress.”