After the most difficult season of her career, Ama Agbeze opens up to Sky Sports about her move to Severn Stars, how she’s ready for this new start and how nerves will play a part on her “first day at school”.

The defender’s switch to Stars from London Pulse was announced on Friday and shortly she’ll be making the journey down the motorway to take part in their first pre-season training session together.

As a former England captain with more than 100 caps and someone who has played for clubs all around the world, training environments are familiar places to Agbeze. However, after the experiences of the past season, the prospect of turning up on her first day at Stars brings about a mixture of emotions.

It's official!!! An England Commonwealth Gold winning #captain & a Malawi Queen … #vnsl2020 is definitely one to watch! #welcome to Stars @amaagbeze & Towera Vinkhumbo #weareSTARS pic.twitter.com/nuIbbPkRQC

“I feel like at the moment I’m thinking ‘Yeah, it’s cool’ and then on Tuesday morning that will change to ‘Ahhh’,” Agbeze told Sky Sports.

“My nephew is four years old and on FaceTime the other day he was upset because he didn’t want to go to school. I feel like [with the nerves] I’m going to be like him on Tuesday.

“I’ll be thinking that I don’t want to go. Of course, it’s not because I don’t actually want to go, it’s just because I’m a bit scared, which doesn’t make sense because I’m a grown woman! As I drive there, the nerves will be there but hopefully after the first five minutes, I’ll be wondering why I felt like that .”

Rewind the clock and look back to this time last year, Agbeze’s move from New Zealand to London had just been announced. It was a move that she openly admitted, had the summer’s Netball World Cup in mind.

Agbeze’s desire was to experience the buzz around the country ahead of a home World Cup and of course, like every English player, her aim was to take to court in Liverpool and try and secure a medal.

However, the ensuing months didn’t pan out as they might have and actually what followed was an unexpected and incredibly difficult time for Agbeze.

“Last season was really tough for me personally. I think people thought that I wasn’t going to come back from my knee injury very quickly and I did,” she shared.

“I played England A in January which wasn’t ever on the cards [injury wise]. So, I came back and was going okay but then I hurt my ankle in the Thunder match and that was a big setback for me.

“That was really hard and then not going to the World Cup was also very disappointing. But, that’s happened and all of the experiences that you have shape who you are and what you become so I have to move on from that.

I’ve been blessed to have my family and my close friends. I feel like I’m never around always saying ‘Oh sorry I can’t be there or I can’t do that’ and yet they still rallied around and supported me when I needed them to. That was massive for me. It showed me that I have people who I can rely upon and that there are people who have got my back and are in my corner.

Ama Agbeze

“It’s a new team, it’s a new year (or it will be) and hopefully that will be good for me.”

Agbeze’s team may be new however their head coach is a familiar face to her with Stars’ Melissa Bessell having been London Pulse’s assistant coach last season. Bessell, as her players will tell you, is direct in her communication style but for Agbeze that’s a positive thing.

“She tells it like it is and some people aren’t into that but I appreciate it. There’s no point in tiptoeing around, if it needs saying – say it!”

Very excited to be working with these two for the @NetballSL @SevernStars is now complete amd we are now a TEAM. https://t.co/TX5IC0uuaq

One area that Bessell and Stars will play a big part in, is ensuring that their new signing? Agbeze? rebuilds personally after such a significant setback this summer.

So often athletes are assumed to have the capability to manage anything that’s thrown at them and just take it on the chin. Many forget they? have the same issues and difficulties to deal with and some will feel them acutely.

Athletes may be ‘machines’ on the court, on the track or on a pitch but they’re not made of stone, highlighted by Agbeze’s answer as to whether she still feels like the same player she was before not being selected for the World Cup?

“I wish that I could say that I felt the same, but I don’t. It’s definitely knocked my confidence and it has been really tough, I’m still working on that. Hopefully moving to Stars is a step in the right direction for me.”

Agbeze joins a franchise which looks to have the right components to create a strong Superleague team and have a campaign of note in 2020. At Fast5, she saw from a distance the buzz that was surrounding her new club and shortly she’ll be at the heart of that.

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