Surrey Storm announce new Director of Netball
Vitality Netball Superleague team Surrey Storm today announced the appointment of Mikki Austin as its new Director of Netball.
Austin, 24, joined Surrey Storm in 2015 and was part of the back-to-back title winning Superleague squad in 2015 and 2016. Disappointingly for her, much of the 2018 season was spent on the sidelines due to injury, making her return at the tail end of the 2018 season.
A firm fans' favourite and three time winner of the player of the season accolade, Austin's determination and professionalism on court make her a perfect role model for Storms' loyal fan base who continue to pack out their home arena at Surrey Sports Park, throughout the competitive season.
Whilst this is Austin's inaugural Director of Netball position, she has vast coaching experience, running one of the Storm academy hubs last season and in her most recent role as Netball Coach at Putney High School.
This morning Austin commented: "I am thrilled to be appointed as Director of Netball at Surrey Storm and, whilst the new season seems like a long way off at the moment, I cannot wait to get started on our preparations to make it a successful one."
"'I am focusing on making sure we can attract some new players to add strength and bolster our already strong squad, so we are ready to compete at the highest level as we aim to compete for a top four spot.
"I have enjoyed every moment of my time with Storm so far, especially as we have enjoyed some great successes which I really want to be part of again; I have big aspirations for what we can achieve and I look forward to building an exciting next generation of Surrey Storm.'
Gavin Baker, Director of Sport said: "Since arriving here in 2015, Mikki has been a stalwart of the Storm squad, bringing not only talent, but a real passion and desire to succeed on behalf of the team.
"Her love of the game is clear for everyone to see with Storms' tag line of #BleedBlue being a natural personification.
"Her appointment will help raise Storms profile to a wider audience, not just in Surrey, but nationally. I firmly believe she will be an asset to us both on and off the court."
Make sure you follow Surrey Storm on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram