Jess Thirlby

Jessica Thirlby (née Garland; born 15 November 1979) is a former England netball international and the current head coach of the England national netball team. As a player, she was a member of the Team Bath squad that won the inaugural 2005–06 Netball Superleague title. She also represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. As a head coach, she guided Team Bath to further Netball Superleague titles in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013. In July 2019, Thirlby was appointed head coach of the senior England national netball team.

Jess Thirlby

Personal information
Full name	Jessica Thirlby (née Garland)
Born	(1979-11-15) 15 November 1979 (age 45) Bristol, England[1]
Height	5 ft 9.25 in (1.76 m)
Spouse	Rob Thirlby
Children	3
Relatives	Chris Garland (father)
Netball career
Playing position(s): WA, GA
Years	Club team(s)	Apps
1999–2006	Team Bath
Years	National team(s)	Caps
2000–2006	England
Coaching career
Years	Team(s)
2006–2007	Celtic Dragons
2008–2019	Team Bath
2019–	England

Early life and family

Jess Thirlby is the daughter of Chris Garland, who was a former professional football player, and his wife, Patricia Cooper. She has two brothers, Adam and Ryan.^[2][3] She is married to Rob Thirlby, who is a former England rugby sevens international. Her husband also represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She is a mother of two children and stepmother to a third.^[3][4]

Playing career

Team Bath

Between 1999 and 2006, Thirlby played for Team Bath. She was one of Team Bath's first full-time players. Between 2001 and 2005, she played in all five Team Bath Super Cup campaigns, making 31 appearances. In 2004 she was a member of the Team Bath squad that won the Super Cup. She was also a member of the Team Bath squad that won the inaugural 2005–06 Netball Superleague title. Her team mates at Team Bath included Pamela Cookey, Rachel Dunn, Stacey Francis, Tamsin Greenway and Geva Mentor.^{[1][5][6][7][8][9][10]}

England

Thirlby represented England at every level from under-16 to senior. Between 2000 and 2006 she was a regular member of the senior squad. She also represented England at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.^{[1][3][7][8][11][12][13][14]}

Coaching career

Celtic Dragons

During the 2006–07 Netball Superleague season, Thirlby served as head coach of Celtic Dragons.^{[7][9][10][15]}

Team Bath

During the 2007–08 Netball Superleague season, Thirlby served as an assistant coach to Jan Crabtree at Team Bath.^[7][9][10] She was appointed Team Bath's head coach for the 2008–09 Netball Superleague season. She subsequently guided Team Bath to further Netball Superleague titles in 2008–09, 2009–10 and 2013.^[7] Between 2015 and 2019, Thirlby served as Team Bath's director of netball.^[7][16][17]

England

While still an active player, Thirlby coached the England under-17 and under-19 teams during 2004 and 2005. She later served as both an assistant coach and head coach with the England under-21 team at the 2009 and 2013 World Youth Cups. Between 2013 and 2015 she served as an assistant coach to Anna Mayes with the senior England team.^{[12][13][16][18]} In July 2019 Thirlby was appointed head coach of the senior England team, taking over from Tracey Neville.^{[3][8][12][13][19][20]}

Honours

Player

Team Bath

• Netball Superleague
  • Winners: 2005–06: 1
• Super Cup
  • Winners: 2004: 1

Head coach

Team Bath

• Netball Superleague
  • Winners: 2008–09, 2009–10, 2013: 3