Emily Handyside Appointed as Welsh Feathers Head Coach

After a successful recruitment process, we are thrilled to announce that the new Welsh Feathers Head Coach will be Emily Handyside. Emily will take charge this month and will manage upcoming Welsh Feathers campaigns including the Netball World Cup this August.

Emily became the Technical Coach for the Welsh Feathers back in September of last year and was a part of the Welsh Feathers team that qualified for the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa. Emily will first lead the Welsh Feathers in a behind-closed-doors match against England A’s on January 8th.

Emily has an extensive coaching career including twelve years leading Performance Pathways. Emily has also worked as a Technical Coach for Team Bath, winning the Superleague title in 2013, and joined the coaching team with Leeds Rhinos in their inaugural Vitality Netball Superleague season.

Emily transitioned from her Head Coach role for the England Netball Intensive Netball training centre into the England U21 Head Coach position, where she led the squad to a Bronze at the 2017 World Youth Cup. From here Emily joined the senior coaching team as an Assistant Coach for the England Futures, achieving a Fast 5 Gold Medal and multiple European titles.

Emily now works as a Coach Developer for UK Coaching, which sees her supporting high performance coaches in Olympic, Paralympic, and professional sport settings.

Wales Netball CEO, Vicki Sutton, commented “Emily is the right individual to continue the great work of Julie Hoornweg and Sara Moore. It is time for the next stage of our Welsh Feathers journey and Emily’s coaching experience will complement the vision we have for the group”

We are excited to see Emily in her new Head Coach role, and we look forward to watching her lead the Welsh Feathers into their first training match of the year later this month.