Skinner looking Ahead after promotion pride
Josie Skinner watched her fearless Just Ahead troops sna-tch promotion and declared: I'm so proud.
The club's coach roared her side on as they earned a spot in division three of the England Netball Premier League.
Made up of players from Waterlooville, Portsmouth, Fareham and Gosport, the Hampshire club starred in the play-offs at Loughborough University.
And they can now look forward to taking their place as one of the top-30 teams in the country.
Skinner said: 'I can't tell you how proud I am of these girls.
'We had the smallest squad at the play-offs but showed we can compete with anyone in the country. We had no fear.
'All the girls are so talented and the commitment and dedication they have shown to achieve this status of being one of the top 30 clubs in the whole of the country is fantastic.
'It's fabulous for our junior club, too. It shows our juniors what coaching at Just Ahead can achieve.
'And also that they have an opportunity to work towards playing at the highest level a club can attain.
'Every team we played at the play-offs were fast, hard competitive games.
'Our matches over the two days were of a high standard, with some being very close with one to two goals in it.'
The Just Ahead girls played their hearts out over the weekend. Four matches were played on the Saturday and two on the Sunday as they finished second in their group to earn promotion to division three.
The achievement is a fantastic testament to a club who have constantly produced talent over the past 24 years since they were established.
As the players enjoy a well-deserved break from training, Skinner was quick to hail some unsung heroes of the team's success.
The coach said: 'We must say a big thank you to Brian Bucknall, managing director of Aqua Bus Travel, who sponsored us for the weekend.
'If it wasn't for Brian lending us a mini-bus for free we would have struggled to fund the play-offs, which took place at Loughborough
University. His sponsorship was very much appreciated.'
Anyone interested in playing for Just Ahead open squad or wishing to join a junior club then please call the club mobile on 07941 376290.
Just Ahead are also looking for sponsorship to support them in the England Netball Premier League.
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Weather for Portsmouth
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 15 C to 24 C
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Temperature: 13 C to 25 C
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