Netball Super League | Trip’s whirlwind rise to the top of the coaching tree

Credit: Ben Lumley

Jo Trip is properly proud of herself and so she should be.

The Severn Stars head coach ended her time with the franchise on a high, guiding them to their first-ever Finals appearance.

The day at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham also ended with her retaining her title as the Coach of the Year.

“I’m really proud to hang up my dress after that game,” the New Zealander said. “Getting back into top four is something really special is a different breed of game and I have missed finals netball for a very long time.

Like a fish out of water 🐟

🤩 @SevernStars Head Coach and player Jo Trip takes a stunning interception, leaping through the air to take it down the court. #NSL2024 | #SeeUsNow pic.twitter.com/vPZU9P7Vw8

— Netball Super League (@NetballSL) June 22, 2024

“To have that as my last game and to put out the performance that we did, and be with this group that I have got.

“I couldn’t be prouder and it is just one of those special moments.”

Trip joined Severn Stars as coach for the 2023 season, having previously played for Loughborough Lightning, Surrey Storm and Saracens Mavericks.

At the end of the 2021 season, Trip retired for the first time but was coaxed out of retirement due to injuries within her new-look Stars squad.

Last season, Stars became a fan favourite side as the self-declared ‘bunch of weirdos’ stormed up the table to finish in sixth place with Trip rewarded with her first gong as a head coach.

She added: “It is the craziest journey! People might not understand what it takes to build a team from fresh and be playing in that as well.

Turnover time 🔄

👊 @severnstars‘ Jo Trip with a crucial tip and turn for her side as they battle hard to close the deficit in the first half of this clash. #NSL2024 l #SeeUsNow pic.twitter.com/O8tNGOZXHP

— Netball Super League (@NetballSL) April 26, 2024

“Last year, I built a team when I was six weeks late to the signing period and I still had fantastic players like Gabs Marshall and Jess Shaw that I’d heard about it.

“Then working into this season, I needed some depth in certain areas. The girls that came in have absolutely boosted the training environment, and the culture.

“It is a more high-performance environment and I’m learning on how to drive that.

“To take a team from basically 11th to top four, four points off third. Sometimes you really yourself doubt as a coach, I am really new to this.

“But for me, I told myself to take a moment and enjoy it because I’ve created something from the bottom up and we’ve put our names up on that board.”

Having been in sight of the top four in 2023, Stars were open about their mission to make it into the semi-final spots for the first time in franchise history.

They duly did so as it was confirmed that Severn Stars would not be a part of NSL 2.0, but Trip will not be going anywhere.

Shooter @sigiburger on @SevernStars Head Coach and Coach of the Season winner Jo Trip 🗣️ ⬇️#NSL2024 l #SeeUsNow pic.twitter.com/OuyYziQoQW

— Netball Super League (@NetballSL) July 10, 2024

In the week leading up to her and Stars’ final game, she was announced as the head coach of the new franchise Birmingham Panthers.

“Stars has been my focus this whole season and even though the announcement with Panthers went out,” Trip said. “I am really privileged to be a part of that.

“But the week before the Grand Final, it was all Stars and about partying with the girls and celebrating what we’ve done.

“It is a bit of a whirlwind, I think I have been handling it quite well, but I think I’ve earned a drink!

On the back of annoucing that Jo Trip will be our new head coach, we grabbed a few minutes with her to get her reaction to the news…#netball #netballsuperleague pic.twitter.com/SReITLhz9O

— Birmingham Panthers Netball (@PanthersNball) June 26, 2024

“It is a really exciting achievement, as a young coach, I am one of the youngest coaches in the top three leagues in the world.

“I have put my stamp on the coaching world quite early on, I have got loads to learn, oh my god I have got loads to learn.

“But that is why I need to come off the court, I need to learn, I need to develop and I need that guidance to really build on that and that is an exciting challenge.”

And that development is sure to come as the NSL steps into the 2025 season and Trip begins to build her team at new franchise, Birmingham Panthers.

With two years of NSL coaching and two Coach of the Year awards under her belt already, the future for the Birmingham based side is certainly looking like an exciting one.

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