QUEENSLAND Firebirds' assistant coach Sara Francis-Bayman has wasted no time getting into the swing of her new role.
The former England international spent her first day in purple at Nissan Arena on Monday, aiding Head Coach Bec Bulley at training as preparation continues to ramp up for the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball season.
It was a headfirst dive straight into the position for Francis-Bayman, who arrived in Australia late last week.
“It’s been good, straight into a training session, meeting the girls and hitting the ground running with them,” Francis-Bayman said.
“It was nice that the girls were excited about having some new input and someone different.
“They gave me a warm welcome, which was nice.
“The facilities are great and the girls worked hard this morning. It’s good to see they’re looking good in pre-season and I’m stepping into a squad that’s excited to learn and wanting to grow and develop.”
The move Down Under is nothing new to Francis-Bayman, having been based in Perth with partner and fellow ex-England international Stacey Francis-Bayman during her championship-winning time with West Coast Fever last season.
“We’re having a bit of an argument about whether or not she can wear green to games and things like that,” Francis-Bayman said.
“We were planning to go home and settle down in the cold but as soon as this opportunity came through I think Stacey was as excited as I was.”
Appointed for the 2023 and 2024 campaigns, Francis-Bayman brings a wealth of experience into the role.
The 37-year-old appeared 84 times for England during her playing career, winning Commonwealth Games and World Cup bronze medals.
As a coach she guided Loughborough Lightning to their first Superleague title in their 16-year history in 2021 and was named Superleague coach of the year in 2018.
“The opportunity to work in SSN was massive and one that I couldn’t turn down,” she said.
“Coming into an assistant coach role allows me to focus on coaching, there’s a little bit less external noise than what you get with the head coach role.”
With her first day out of the way, Francis-Bayman says she’s excited by the potential of the Firebirds and what she can achieve as a member of the Purple Family.
“There’s a huge opportunity for this group to grow and develop and that’s a big attraction for me as a coach – that you can kind of start at one point and hopefully get to the end of the season and be a much better team and squad for the experience,” she said.
“We’ve got a huge amount of potential and I’m really looking forward to trying to get them to that end point.”
Fans will get a look themselves at how the Firebirds’ preparations for 2023 are going when the entire squad faces local rivals Sunshine Coast Lightning in the Suncorp Spirit Cup in Mackay on November 26.
