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Anna Stembridge (born 8 February 1981), originally known as Anna Mayes, is a former netball player and coach. Between 2011 and 2015, Mayes served as head coach of England. She was head coach when England won the 2011 World Netball Series. It was the first time England won a major tournament. She was also England head coach at the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Between 2015 and 2022, she served as head coach of Team Bath. As a player, she represented Wales at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games and at the 2003 and 2007 World Netball Championships. During the Super Cup era, Mayes played for Team Bath and during the early Netball Superleague era she played for Celtic Dragons.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Anna Stembridge (née Mayes) | ||
| Born |
8 February 1981[1] Swindon[2] | ||
| School | New College, Swindon | ||
| University | University of Wales Institute, Cardiff | ||
| Occupation | Senior university lecturer | ||
| Netball career | |||
| Playing position(s): WA, C | |||
| Years | Club team(s) | Apps | |
| 199x–200x | Team Bath | ||
| 2005–2008 | Celtic Dragons | ||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | |
| 1990s | England U16, U17 | 5 | |
| 2002–2007 | Wales | 45 | |
| Coaching career | |||
| Years | Team(s) | ||
| 2005–2007 | Welsh Netball Academy[3] | ||
| 2007–2008 | Celtic Dragons | ||
| 2011–2015 | England | ||
| 2015–2022 | Team Bath | ||
Mayes attended the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff, now known as Cardiff Metropolitan University. In 2002 she graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Sport and Exercise Science, in 2004 she completed a masters in Sports Psychology and in 2009 she gained a Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education. Throughout her coaching career with England and Team Bath, Mayes worked as a lecturer in Sports Coaching and Sport Psychology at Cardiff Metropolitan University, while also working on her PhD.[3][4][5][6]
Early years
Mayes began her netball career playing for the Swindon-based Lawn Netball Club before representing a team based in Hucclecote.[7][8][9]
Team Bath
During the Super Cup era, Mayes played for Team Bath. She was coached by Lyn Gunson and her teammates included her future coaching partner, Jess Thirlby. In 2004, she was a member of the Team Bath squad that won the Super Cup title.[4][10][11]
Celtic Dragons
Between 2005 and 2008, Mayes was a player coach with Celtic Dragons in the Netball Superleague. During the 2007–08 season she served as head coach.[3][12][13][14]
International
England
Mayes represented England at both under-16 and under-17 levels, winning 5 caps.[3][8]
Wales
On 12 March 2002, Mayes made her senior debut for Wales against Barbados. She eventually made 45 senior appearances for Wales. She represented Wales at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games, at the 2003 and 2007 World Netball Championships and at several European Netball Championships.[1][3][15][16][17]
| Tournaments | Place |
|---|---|
| 2002 Commonwealth Games[1][18] | 6th |
| 2003 World Netball Championships[19] | 14th |
| 2006 Commonwealth Games[1][20][21] | 8th |
| 2007 World Netball Championships[12][22] | 12th |
England
Between 2008 and 2011, Mayes served as an assistant coach with England. She served as an assistant at the 2008 Taini Jamison Trophy Series, the 2010 Commonwealth Games and the 2011 World Netball Championships. Between 2008 and 2009 she also served as a coach with the England U21's. She first acted as head coach of a senior England team at the 2010 World Netball Series, guiding them to second place.[3][16][23][24] At the 2011 World Netball Series, while interim head coach, she guided England to the gold medal. It was the first time England won a major tournament. In the final they defeated New Zealand 33–26. In December 2011 she was confirmed as head coach on a permanent basis.[7][25]
Between 2011 and 2015, Mayes served as head coach of the England team, taking charge for 46 test matches. She guided England to 31 wins, achieving a win rate of 67% overall. In January 2013 she guided England to an historic 3–0 series win against Australia. She also guided England to two series wins against Jamaica. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, Mayes' England lost narrowly by 1 goal to both Australia and New Zealand.[2][3][23][26][27] During the 2014 Taini Jamison Trophy Series, England beat New Zealand in New Zealand for only the second time.[28] In March 2015, it was announced that Mayes would be leaving her England role.[29][30][31] She was subsequently replaced by Tracey Neville.[32]
Team Bath
Between 2008 and 2010, Mayes served as an assistant coach with Team Bath. She formed a successful partnership with head coach Jess Thirlby and together they guided Team Bath to two Netball Superleague titles.[4][6][10][16][39] In 2015, after leaving the England head coach role, Mayes, now known as Anna Stembridge, returned to Team Bath to serve as head coach. She was initially reunited with Thirlby, who was now Director of Netball.[4][10][16] Under Stembridge, Team Bath qualified for the play-offs every season she was head coach and in 2021 they were runners up. They also won the 2021 British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship. In April 2022, Stembridge announced she would step down as head coach at the end of the season.[6][11][40][41][42][43] In April 2024, Stembridge and Thirlby, were inducted into the University of Bath/Team Bath Hall of Fame for Sport.[44][45]
Player
- Super Cup
- Winners: 2004
Head coach
- Fast5 Netball World Series
- Taini Jamison Trophy
- Runners Up: 2014
- British Fast5 Netball All-Stars Championship
- Winners: 2021
- Netball Superleague
- Runners Up: 2021
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