As many of us know, but perhaps more wish for, it’s a fantastic thing in life when you can combine work with your passion – it nearly always delivers far better results... both for you, and your employer.
And for Jo Adams, Head of Marketing at England Netball, a decision to utilise her skills in a way that she knew she would enjoy has proven a great decision, with netball the latest area to benefit from her expertise.
‘It was after I’d had my second child that I thought I’d concentrate on working in areas I’d love to work in,’ revealed marketing professional Jo.
And she has gone from strength to strength, and enjoyed work along the way.
She went to work for leading photo agency Empics (which has since become part of leading news agency The Press Association), and during the seven years she was there in the commercial division, helped grow the business and bring in key contracts with organisations such as the Champions League, nPower test series and many others, supplying the national press among many clients.
She then joined football’s Conference as Commercial Director, and it was a time of massive growth and change with the transition to three leagues, and vastly increased coverage on Sky and BBC Radio. Work with football’s new Women’s Premier League is also on Jo’s impressive CV, and her most recent project is another sporting labour of love.
‘Netball is a new sport for me, but I love it. I’ve taken my time to try and understand it, but here at England Netball we know there are massive opportunities.’
Jo accepts that things cannot happen overnight, but also knows that netball has been too reliant on Sport England funding, and needs to drive up revenue, and participation...which is the key element.
‘The perception of netball was perhaps old-fashioned, that it still had the “navy bloomers” feel and hadn't moved on. But one of the first things I learned is that the girls who play at the top level are great. They are fit, real athletes in a hard, competitive sport.’
With her experience of working with the media, Jo especially knows that the sport will not gain massive column inches of coverage or endless hours on television, but that for a sport which appeals to more than 50% of the population, there are plenty of other things going for it.
‘We are sitting various strands of the game under the umbrella “My Game” – and that’s no matter what level, from elite through social, down to seven-year-olds.<
‘Participation is key, and also for working with sponsors. There are a lot of women and girls who played at school, then drifted away, not just from this sport but from any sport.
‘One focus is in getting women back to netball, but not necessarily into a competitive league. It’s focusing on the fact it’s good for fitness, to meet and make friends, the social and sociable aspect. Then, if they love it, they may progress on to a league.
‘Another group key to the future is the 7–11-year-olds (ie those in Key Stage 2), and rebranding. We’re using images and quotes of the girls themselves to show how much they get from it.’
This is the High Five game which, according to England Netball, is the only game of netball that children of primary school age should be playing. It is ‘a fun, skilful game, where players are able to rotate positions and adapt their skills to play in any position’. Coaches, teachers and physical educationalists have been heavily involved in its development.
‘We’re saying there’s a real BFFL element here – best friends for life.’
Jo says the older age group of girls (12–16) will hopefully follow on, as the youngsters look to continue playing, and also stresses that facilities are another key element.
If the demand is there, then leisure centres and schools will make courts available...and this fits in with Jo's grass-roots approach.
‘We can’t offer millions of TV viewers for our sport to a sponsor or partner, but we are half the population. For the High Five game we are offering primary schools free affiliation, and there are millions of girls who will be playing the game in this group.’
So, although the role models are important, and the athleticism and success of national squads will always help, it’s the ground-up nature of this challenge which really appeals to Jo.
‘We really do have great plans for netball, and a belief that we can get there. It’s a great game, and too many people have been lost to sport over the years...we hope we can attract some of those back to netball, and encourage more to stay with us into the future.’
