Lisa Alexander, Australia's head coach at the 2018 Commonwealth Games, hails the England star: "Her effort on court is immense and one we were continually trying to grind down"
Wednesday 15 April 2020 10:22, UK
There are moments that define players' careers for a lifetime. No matter what has gone before or what comes after, one single goal, tackle, putt or shot will forever be associated with their name.
Sometimes, these sporting moments aren't positive ones. Instead, they're painful reminders of what could have been. However, in the case of England netballer Helen Housby, her moment is an exceptional one - and one that positively impacted the sport that she loves forever.
Back on April 15, 2018, with a cacophony of noise around her at the Coomera Indoor Sports Centre in Gold Coast, Australia, she scored the most memorable goal in England netball history.
It was a goal that pipped the world leaders Australia to gold in their own backyard. It re-defined expectations, smashed through years of 'what ifs' for England and in a flash changed the sport's landscape, as former Australia and South Africa coach Norma Plummer highlights.
"It's probably one of the best things that's happened," Plummer said to Sky Sports.
"I hate to see our Australian girls lose but as far as England winning the Commonwealth Games, something had to change, and it was the best thing for netball. It started to show that the sport can step up."
With April 18, 2020 marking two years to the day since that history-making goal, we take a look at the personality behind the scorer of England's 'golden goal', speaking to those who discovered her to find out what makes Housby the netballer she is...
The shooter's movement up the ranks of English netball was kick-started by two former England international shooters - Karen Greig and Tracey Neville.
In her role as England Netball's Pathway Coach for the North West, Greig spotted Housby at a North West talent festival. At that point, the 15-year-old was representing Cumbria, and Greig recalls her initial thoughts about the young shooter.
"She was one of these players who was by no means a complete package, but she had something. You looked at her and thought, where has she been? What kind of coaching has she had?
"At that point, she hadn't really had much [coaching] and I think that she had just been playing local league for a club."
Greig instantly discussed this talented player with Neville, who was Manchester Thunder's head coach at the time, and together they went about bringing Housby into the Superleague franchise's set up.
I remember just seeing this kid on court who looked a little bit like Bambi! She was all legs and arms but one thing for me was, that shot. She had probably one of the best shooting arms in the game.
"If you talk about an athlete who really wanted it from the start, Helen was it. She was so driven," Neville added.
"It was a five-hour round trip from Cumbria [to Thunder]. She did that five times a week for training and the high-performance programme and she never ever missed a session. She put the work in."
Personality wise, Greig remembers that Housby kept herself to herself during her early time at Thunder - unsurprising really for a youngster stepping into such an established netball environment.
"She was quite a quiet kid. I think because she had come from Cumbria and she was on her own at that point," recalls Greig, who would become Thunder head coach herself in 2016 after Neville took the England job.
"The environment she was coming into, a lot of the players already knew each other, but she came in and got stuck in. She wasn't afraid to try new things.
"She was always really, really positive and she was a sponge. Everything we threw at her, she soaked it up.
"To see her go from this 15-year-old, gangly girl who was playing outside at a North West talent festival to where she was two years ago, it was a proud moment for me because I'd been a part of that."
The coolness Housby showed under the greatest pressure of all on the Gold Coast, and the way in which she held the weight of her team on her shoulders with that last-second shot, wasn't a new experience for her.
I believe it was Helen's ability to show calmness under pressure that enabled her to slot that winning goal. Her effort on court is immense and one we were continually trying to grind down with two opponents and contesting every issue. She was also hellishly good at defence down court.
Four years prior, in her first significant final of note, she'd repeated the same heroics and calmly slotted a championship-winning goal for Manchester Thunder. On that occasion, it was from distance too.
Housby has spoken about that moment since. She's shared how it helped to create her England career and also discussed how she simply played that final without worry or anxiety.
The now 25-year-old's courage is something Greig singled out from the beginning. Her former coach at Thunder believes it's one of her greatest qualities as a player, alongside her having one of the best shooting arms that Neville has seen in the game.
"She's fearless," said Greig.
"Coming into Thunder, she didn't even know what Thunder was and she just was fearless. She didn't know who the players were that she was playing against.
"You quite often go up against a team and think that XYZ is playing, they can do this and they're capable of doing that. Helen didn't know about them. She just went out on court, did her job, and didn't care who she came up against."
In the immediate months after Thunder's Superleague title, Housby went to her first Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. There she experienced the flip side of the coin as England missed out on reaching the final and then lost in the bronze play-off against Jamaica.
Housby didn't take to court for either of those matches but lived every second on the bench. She had featured earlier in the tournament and would gain further court time and a bronze medal from the following year's Netball World Cup.
Further seasons at Thunder saw them lose the 2016 Grand Final to Surrey Storm but all the time, Housby was developing at a rate of knots.
Increasing game time at Superleague and establishing herself in a Roses dress increased the spotlight on her and it shaped a move to play domestic netball in Australia.
The New South Wales Swifts was her destination and, like all players who went over at that time, it further accelerated her development and enhanced her knowledge and prowess.
It is clear that Housby, like all shooters in netball or goal-kickers in rugby, has an innate ability to thrive under pressure. Every one will spend hours on a practice court or pitch, visualising that winning moment.
They all will live it thousands of times over in their minds. For some, crunch time may not happen during their career but for others, it becomes a reality.
Housby has experienced it not once but twice. At the age of 25, the odds are stacked firmly in her favour to be able to show again just how fearless she can be on a netball court.
The next major championships currently scheduled for England are the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022. Another golden moment from Housby on a home court would be quite something.
