‘It’s pretty awesome’ – Hampshire college PE teacher and England netball star Yasmin Parsons on her hectic life

Just the thought of that gruelling schedule would be enough for some people to want to have a rest.

But for Parsons, a netball star raised and still based in Fareham, it's all in a day's work.

On top of what is already a crammed daily diary, the 27-year-old even manages to squeeze in a HIIT or running session to keep her in peak condition prior to an 8am start virtually teaching her Itchen College pupils before clocking off at 4pm and heading to the Surrey Sports Park for team training.

And on the days when she's given a rest by her club, Parsons is putting the work in on the England training weights and conditioning programme set for those involved in the Vitality Roses set-up.

It seems there is little time for the former Crofton School pupil to take a breath but the sacrifice is all worth it as it means she's pulling on a netball jersey for club and country while pursuing her teaching passion.

Parsons said: ‘I love it.

‘It is hard work and there are sacrifices that you have to make.

‘There are things like not attending birthday parties and you do miss out on those special occasions.

‘I think when you’re not the only one missing out, with other girls on your team making those sacrifices, it's not as bad.

‘When you wear that dress with your name on the back, that England dress or that Surrey Storm dress, it does mean a lot. You realise why you’ve given up that and you just make a lot of people proud.

‘A lot of the time I’m playing for my parents because I know the sacrifices they made for me.

‘Taking me to all those training sessions, I appreciate them so much, they gave up a lot to help me to become the player I am today.

‘I love it, I love my teaching because that’s been a massive passion of mine since I went to uni and wanted to do that as a career.

‘The fact that I can do both and balance it is pretty awesome.

‘There are days when it’s tiring, there can be a lot of pressure, but life is like that.

'It’s just how you deal with those situations and how you come out of it the other side.

‘I’m quite proud of how I’m doing, but I just love it.'

Parsons' story of mixing a career alongside playing is not unusual in the sport.

A whole host of players in the Superleague hold down jobs or netball coaching roles to generate an extra source of income.

But working while an elite sports athlete can require flexibility from your employer, particularly if you're involved in the England set-up as Parsons currently is.

The former Fareham Fireflys player has a full-time P1 contract with the Vitality Roses which means she's training and playing for her country during the international window.

Parsons was part of the England team that toured New Zealand in October for a three-Test series.

It was another great experience for the Commonwealth Games hopeful to be part of and she thanked Itchen College for their continued support in making sure playing for her country is possible, even in term time.

‘The college have massively supported me to pursue this. They gave me part-time hours, they’ve been really supportive, I had to go to New Zealand for a month and they were really supportive,' said Parsons.

‘For them to have my back and enable me to have this dual career, I’m really lucky and privileged to have such a supportive college.

‘It was a fantastic experience overall (New Zealand tour) and it was just nice to have a little of normality before we returned to the UK and went straight into lockdown, which was great!'

Parsons' current focus is firmly on making sure Surrey Storm achieve a top four finish in the Superleague this season.

After the 2020 season was abandoned after just four matches last March, Parsons and her Storm colleague kicked off the new campaign with a win and defeat in the opening round of fixtures last weekend.

A season-opening 42-40 victory over London Pulse ensured Parsons marked her first competitive match as club captain in the best possible fashion. But the following day they fell to a 54-40 defeat to Saracens Mavericks.

The Fareham-based wing attack believes those opening results illustrate how tough this season could be to predict during the strangest of times.

And Parsons was just pleased to pull the Surrey dress on again at Studio 001 in Wakefield after a long wait.

‘It was fantastic (to be back playing Superleague),' said the Storm skipper.

‘This build-up has been a while, I think this is the longest pre-season that I’ve been a part of.

'When we turned up there last weekend it was incredible. The atmosphere was fantastic and they did such a good job with the lighting, the background noise and the flooring - it just set the scene for us.

‘Obviously, we’d love to have the crowd there, but for Sky Sports to put games live on tele and every other game is streamed through YouTube, so every game is live pretty much.

‘It allows our fans and family all to watch it and we’ve not had that before.'

Parsons is aiming for her third national title in 2021. After first winning the Superleague with Team Bath in 2013, she was a member of Storm’s 2016 triumphant squad - a year after joining the team.

She has the added responsibility of captaining the franchise this season.

It's not a new role, having skippered England at under-17, under-19 and even senior level.

But the wing attack or centre acknowledged she's got big shoes to fill taking over from good friend Katy Hughes.

'It’s quite funny actually because I’ve always been vice-captain to Katy and she’s a Storm legend, she’s been in the programme for years, since it first started,' said Parsons.

‘To step into her shoes, someone I consider a legend and she’s a very, very good friend of mine, it was quite scary.

‘But I’ve loved it. I’ve loved my role of being captain this year and what’s really scary is I’m one of the more experienced players now.

‘It’s going to be a really exciting season, our main aim is top four, but I think all the girls are super excited to be back playing netball because not many people can say that.

‘We feel very lucky and very privileged.'