Handyside to make way for full-time Feathers coach

Emily Handyside will step down as Welsh Feathers head coach after this summer's Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

Handyside, who has held the role for the past three years, says she wanted to "hand over at a high point and I believe we are there".

Initially appointed as technical coach in September 2022, she took the head coach role after helping Wales qualify for the 2023 World Cup.

During her time in charge, the Welsh Feathers rose to an all-time high of sixth in the world rankings and currently lie seventh.

"I made the decision to step away from a place of fulfilment rather than fatigue," added the former Team Bath coach, who has also been working as a coach developer.

Wales netball will replace Handyside with a full-time national head coach as part of its Ymladd 2030 strategy to develop the game in Wales from grassroots to elite level.

The governing body says the ambition behind the initiative is to break into the world's top five and establish a high-performing, sustainable elite ecosystem.

"The programme is in a brilliant place, we have a fantastic pipeline of talented world-class players, the foundations are strong and the ambition around Ymladd 2030 is genuinely exciting," said Handyside, who has not revealed her own future plans.

Wales Netball announced in January that the head coach of Cardiff-based Netball Super League side LexisNexis Dragons, Reinga Bloxham, will take on the role of Wales' director of netball at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Following the announcement of Handyside's impending departure, they will begin recruitment for the position of head coach in August, after the conclusion of the Glasgow Games.

The coaching team to guide the Welsh Feathers through the World Cup qualifying campaign will, they said, "be announced in due course".

Wales Netball chief executive officer Sarah Boswell paid tribute to Handyside's impact during her four years with Wales.

"Emily has made an outstanding contribution to Wales Netball and the Welsh Feathers," said Boswell.

"She leaves the programme in a stronger position than she found it, and everything she has built is the platform from which our next chapter begins.

"Ymladd 2030 is about taking netball in Wales to the very top and our next head coach will inherit something truly special."