England's netball team are set to head to the Strive Academy in Jersey to begin their preparations for next year's Commonwealth Games in Birmingham ©Strive Academy

England’s netball team are set to begin preparations for their Commonwealth Games title defence in a new multi-million-pound training base in Jersey.

Strive Academy in St Peter will act as home for the Roses from July 26 until August 3.

The building opened only last month and features state-of-the-art facilities, including, it is claimed, one of Europe’s best-equipped gymnasiums, while also boasting a hydrotherapy pool for resistance swimming and running, altitude chambers, a dojo and a lecture theatre.

It has also hosted the British and Irish Lions rugby team before they left for their current tour of South Africa. 

England won the gold medal match at Commonwealth Games gold medal 52-51 against hosts Australia at Gold Coast 2018.

England won the Commonwealth Games gold medal at Gold Coast 2018 and will be defending their title at Birmingham 2022 ©Getty Images
England won the Commonwealth Games gold medal at Gold Coast 2018 and will be defending their title at Birmingham 2022 ©Getty Images

England's head coach Jess Thirlby has stressed that the squad will not suffer from complacency in Birmingham next August.

"We don’t own the 2022 gold medal, we only own the 2018 gold medal," she told the Jersey Evening Post. 

"The slate has been wiped clean now.

"I see it less as us defending it and more of us being able to repeat it.

"One thing that has eluded England before is having players who have been there and done it.

"We have that now and we’re in the mix.

"It all starts in Jersey and we’ll be doing a lot on the first evening when we land on the Island to remind the players of the task in hand and motivating them to put their best foot forward."

The Roses will be hosting a coaching clinic for Island children during their stay.

Serena Guthrie, one of the 25 travelling players and a Jersey native, is thrilled to be heading back to the Island.

"It’s a massive deal, the Roses coming to Jersey, and it’s obviously huge for me too, being a Jersey girl," she told the Jersey Evening Post. 

"It’s where it all began for me so it’ll be nice to go full circle and have a training camp there with my girls."

The Strive Academy was given the green light for construction on the condition that it would provide a protected service to the community.

Heavily subsidised coaching, support and medical services will be available to Jersey’s sports associations and clubs, whilst 30 locally sourced employees have also been hired.

The facility has allocated 15,000 visits per year to school PE lessons.

Jess Thirlby giving instructions to Natalie Panagarry during a Vitality Netball Nations Cup 2020 match between England and New Zealand ©Getty Images
Jess Thirlby giving instructions to Natalie Panagarry during a Vitality Netball Nations Cup 2020 match between England and New Zealand ©Getty Images


"My focus is to take a kid who would never have had an opportunity and get them on a podium," said Ben Harvey, who is fronting the privately funded project.

"The phrase we’re using is 'playground to podium' and we want the kids to be the best they can be.

"If the podium is just having a bit more self-esteem and confidence, fantastic, if it’s winning Olympic gold, brilliant.

"We don’t want any stigma about us only looking for gold medallists, because we’re not. If we can make the Island slightly healthier we’ll have done one hell of a job."

Harvey also said Strive want to turn Jersey into a globally recognised hotbed for sporting talent and he is actively targeting the All Blacks for training camps in Jersey ahead of the annual autumn Internationals.