Loughborough Lightning star Jess Shaw is targeting a strong season for club and country as she seeks to ensure her England spot at this summer’s Commonwealth Games.
Having left the Lightning in 2020, Shaw has had successful spells with Team Bath, Severn Stars and Birmingham Panthers but now returns to last year’s Netball Super League runners-up as a far more polished player.
Ahead of her side’s season-opener against LexisNexis Dragons on Saturday, live on Sky Sports, Shaw set out her goals for the year, which features the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow across July and August.
“This squad is really exciting,” Shaw told Sky Sports.
“They’ve been in finals now for five consecutive years, so hopefully we get into that final again this year.
“With it being a Commonwealth Games year, for me, coming to Lightning is going to help me perform. I’ve got the team behind me and if I am performing, I’ll be out on that court.”
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Highlights of the Vitality Roses’ second match of their three-game international series against South Africa
Her return got off to an encouraging start as the Lightning started the year by winning the Super Cup over the weekend.
Shaw also explained that some of the thinking behind her move to Loughborough was that she will get playing time across both the wing attack and centre positions.
She added: “Coming into a Commonwealth Games year, it’s really important that I am at the top of my game and playing across both positions, so hopefully I can get that this season.”
‘Diabetes still catches me off guard’
Shaw’s rise to the top of the sport is made all the more remarkable by the fact she was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a teenager.
The 29-year-old still has to manage her health carefully but finds motivation in showing younger people with the condition that they can succeed in elite sport.
“I still find it really challenging living with Type 1 diabetes,” Shaw said. “It still catches me off guard depending on different games and things.
“But over the years I have started to get a bit more to grips with what works for me on gamedays, and training around that.
“But again, some days it’s just out of my control and I’m really struggling to kind of get it in that range.
“For me, it’s just doing it for the ones that are younger and look up to me as a role model, to know that even living with Type 1 diabetes, it doesn’t stop you and when you do get to the top it’s actually a lot sweeter.”
Watch the Netball Super League live on Sky Sports this season, starting with champions London Pulse vs Manchester Thunder, live on Sky Sports Mix and Sky Sports+ from 7.25pm on Friday, February 27
