Netball superstar Claire Maxwell on netball's rise, ankle injury & juggling sport and motherhood

Claire Maxwell, still better known in netball circles by her maiden name Brownie, is one of the finest netball players Scotland has ever produced. Gaining over 90 caps she has been a vital part of making the national squad competitive on a world stage. In this brilliant episode, she chats about what it really takes to become an elite athlete while holding down a  day job, overcoming a serious injury, and the reality of returning to top-level after becoming a Mum.

Claire grew up in an ultra-sporty family playing netball alongside her own Mum and sister but she still recalls the exact moment the seeds of her future sporting career were sown and how she set out to achieve them. Of course it didn't happen overnight and listening you get a real sense of the drive and energy required to make it at this level.

Her sights were set on the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 when an old ankle injury reared its head. Ignoring it for as long as she could Claire eventually realised she needed to fix it and saw Prof Mackay back in 2013 when his new InternalBracing technique was in its infancy. Claire chose the surgery as it offered her the only realistic chance of rehabbing in time to make the Games. Prof Mackay for his part, recalls the op only too well as it was more complicated than initial presentations and he knew the timeline was tight.

As a keen netball player, Jennifer & Claire chat about the sport's increasing popularity and its evolution as it aims to become an Olympic discipline.

It is also fascinating to listen to Claire talk honestly about the expections versus reality of returning to elite-level sport following pregnancy and motherhood.

All in all a brilliant episode with an amazing athlete.

Don't miss it!

Thanks for listening - follow us on X and Instagram or head to our website for more info
X
Instagram
Website

Chapters

• 1:22 How I got into netball
• 2:49 Was getting to top level always a goal?
• 4:25 Netball career pathways then and now
• 5:11 Opportunities today
• 6:05 Men coming to the sport
• 8:19 Netball - a fast and furious sport
• 9:25 What it's like playing at top level
• 10:46 What it takes to be an elite athlete
• 11:27 Practice sessions are key
• 14:28 Drive to succeed
• 14:49 Ankle injury causing problems
• 15:24 Choosing surgery
• 16:23 Why ankles get weaker with sport
• 17:04 Self help for ankle sprains
• 17:38 Prof Mackay remembers case well
• 20:32 Rehab - taking the good days with the bad
• 22:47 Pioneering
• 24:01 Never looked back
• 25:03 Becoming a Mum
• 26:05 Tackling taboo subject of return to sport after pregnancy
• 26:33 Adapting is key
• 27:25 Has it been harder than you thought it would be?
• 28:36 It's not a six week recovery!
• 30:57 Growing the sport
• 31:49 Women's sport playing catch up
• 37:54 Balancing work life with sport
• 42:16 Analysis key to team improvement
• 44:23 The future is bright