Summer shooting for WANL return with Lightning

Talented shooter Summer Stirling is training round the clock in a bid to get another crack at playing State league netball. The Denmark-raised Stirling joined Peel Lightning in the off-season, a new outfit in the eight-team WA Netball League — the premier competition in the State. Netball WA has suspended all training and winter competitions until May 30 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. That cut short Stirling’s pre-season training with Lightning teammates, and when her Edith Cowan University studies headed online she returned home. In 2018, Stirling played for the South East Demons, now known as the Southside Demons, but a year out of the system has only added to her motivation of playing at the State league level again. “I played club netball last year,” Stirling said. “I really wanted to give it another crack and this is a brand-new club so it’s a nice fit. “I saw they advertised trials and I went for it.” The WANL is scheduled to start in June and that could be delayed further, but Stirling said she’ll use the time at home to get in prime shape to attack the season whenever that may be. “We started pre-season in March and did two or three weeks and then it was canned,” she said. “My uni is closed and gone fully online and there is no netball training so I thought why not head home, especially now the borders are closed. I’m doing a lot of training here. “We do have a real extensive program that we’ve got to get done, footwork, ball work and a running program. “The season is supposed to start in June but no one knows what’s going on and it’s the same with any sport right now.” Stirling turns 22 today and was a premiership player with Magpies in the Albany Netball Association in 2016.