“Solo sessions are about giving you the tools you need to train by yourself, to keep motivated, and to be creative in the way you do it yourself. Most importantly, my sessions are about enjoying the journey you are on”
Hey, my Solo Sessions family! I hope this blog finds you and your loved ones safe and well.
First up, Happy 5 Year Anniversary to us! I can’t believe it’s been 5 years of posting Solo Sessions on YouTube! Time flies when you’re having fun! Big love to all our day 1’s & those that have recently found us! I can’t wait to see what we achieve together in the next 5 years!
Also want to say a MASSIVE “THANK YOU”, to everyone who voted for me as your ‘Lucozade Sport Player of the Month’. It truly is an honour, and I hope I continue to live up to this title.
‘Get stronger in 2021!’
Now, let’s go back to the 17th February, when I launched my ‘Solo Sessions VIP Members: 40 Day BOOTCAMP Challenge’! The challenge saw us all the way through to the 28th of March, and you guys absolutely smashed it! I am SO PROUD of you all! The progress that you have all made, is so inspiring!
‘Don’t count the days. Make the days count.’
We started the challenge off with a zoom session, and it was so lovely to see everyone and welcome our new VIPs. Let me tell you guys, after a weekend full of netball (and our first game back finally!) - I was broken! But you guys and your energy, are what helped power me through! Thank you! In the 40 Day Challenge, we covered all the skills needed before returning to the court. We looked at; activation, fitness, balance, ball skills, landing, speed & agility, and everything in between!
I want to give a massive shout out to; my fellow Saracens Mavericks’ teammates; Jodie Gibson and my sister Kadeen, London Pulse’s Lindsay Keable, and my cousin Kyle Murray! They all took the time to help out with a zoom session! Thank you all for sharing with us your skills and knowledge!
If anyone would like to redo any of the sessions, they can be found on our Solo Sessions website, as well as Instagram. Don’t forget to share your videos and photos of you doing any of these workouts!
After each session, we had some time with each of these netball superstars for a Q&A, and no topic was off limits! Here are some of the questions that you guys asked.
Lindsay’s Q&A What advice would you give for anyone who wants to try-out for a franchise? I would say, 1. Go with an open mind 2. Be confident in your abilities 3. Be willing to work with as many people as possible; showing you are a team-player is crucial! 4. Listen to feedback How do you manage to keep the same intensity during match-play? Making sure you’re prepared before a match is key, both mentally & physically. Also training at a high intensity will help improve and maintain your performance.
Sasha [me]: Lindsay, I think you should tell everyone how tall you are! Ha ha! Ha! Ok, so I am 6ft 4 inches or 193 CM! I didn’t used to be this tall! I really started to get taller when I was 14 – I had a massive growths-pert in year 9 and 10. I rocketed! So eat your greens, sleep well and recover well, and you might be as tall as me!
Jodie’s Q&A How have you mentally overcome returning to court, following your injury? It’s been a really hard and long process, and it did get harder though the longer I was unable to play. However, it made me refocus my mind onto other objectives; such as my rehab, and other interests. I decided to set myself smaller goals to aim for, rather than just in the beginning when the focus was all about getting back to netball. This also helped me to recognise how much I had actually achieved. Talking about it, and how I was feeling, also helped me massively. What was the initial reaction/emotion to returning to court? I was so relieved to be back on court! It was a moment I had been thinking about for years, and I kept thinking; “Just enjoy it. Doesn’t matter if you throw a bad pass, you’re on court!”. I would say to all of you, when the times come that you can return to court, enjoy being with your teammates, and have fun! How do you mentally prepare before a match? I identify 2 things I want to work on in the game, usually 1 thing in attack, and 1 in defence. I might say to myself; “Ok Jodie, dictate to one-side, and back up the short pass in attack”. Things like this really help me to refocus. Also connecting with your teammates and coming up with a game plan for the next phase of play. Anytime I feel overwhelmed because I may thrown the ball away, or the other team might have scored a few more consecutive goals, I always go back to these 2 points.
Kadeen’s Q&A How do you feel playing with your sister [me – Sasha], and how does it affect your play on court? I think it is amazing! I think we have a different type of communication. We don’t hold anything back, because we know it’s all from love. Plus, we push each-other, which is a big motivator.
Have you ever experienced self-doubt, and if so, how did you overcome it? Yeah there have definitely been times where I have felt the pressure playing against strong defenders. I try to remember; why I am there, I am there for a reason, and what I am good at. You’re gonna have errors in a game, which is fine, it’s how you get it back, and adapt your game play basically. Sasha: I’m just going to interject really quickly, if you’re struggling to get free from a defender, generally, I’d suggest you start preparing earlier than you think you need to. For example, if you feel like ‘oh this person is always on me, at the point, you need to start working even harder even earlier, so by the time the ball is ready to be released, you are then free. Just something to keep in your mind.
Playing against International teams, such as New Zealand, how do you penetrate their zoning defence? I’m not gonna lie, it is the hardest defending unit to try and get past. How you get around this, is by forcing the defenders to change their positing, so you can now move into the open space. It’s all about making the defender think you are going to go in one direction, but we are actually going the other way. It’s a whole team effort.
What advice would you give to a GS or GA? Don’t be afraid to go to post, that is your job. How tall or short your defender is, is irrelevant. You only miss 100% of the shots that you don’t take, and with every shot, let your confidence grow. YOUR TURN! I LOVE being able to give back to you guys, and I especially love seeing your photos and videos of you completing my workouts / setting your own goals (which inspire me!). I also love our Q&A sessions after workouts, and I hope you guys do too! I like to try and keep things fresh and new at Solo Sessions, so I did something NEVER BEFORE SEEN IN SOLO SESSIONS! … I decided to become the interviewer! Here’s how it went! What has been your highlight of the 40 Day Challenge? L - I loved Kyle’s FUNKEE FITNESS DANCE session! It was so much fun, and for someone like me - who has no rhythm - I found it really easy to join in with.
M - my highlight of the 40-day challenge was having the opportunity to work with some of the highest level athletes as well as communicating with other netballers my age across the country
How has doing the 40 Day Challenge impacted you? L - Doing the 40 Day Challenge has motivated me to kick start my fitness ahead of returning to netball and adopt a healthier lifestyle.
What has kept you focused on this challenge? L - Seeing the achievements of my fellow Solo Sessions’ members definitely kept me focused on this challenge as they are all inspiring to me, and I can feel the love and support from them, willing me to carry on with the improvements I have made.
M - the thing that has kept me focused during this is making myself happy and pushing towards my goals in which Sasha helped me with and since going back to netball i have achieved them all
What made you sign up to Solo Sessions? L -It’s quite embarrassing, but I signed up because I am a massive Saracens Mavericks’ fan, and you are one of my idols Sash! But, since signing up to Solo Sessions, I have gained so much; improved fitness; strengthened my muscles; expanded my knowledge of netball – and I have gained friends for life! It’s been so nice getting to meet and speak with other girls, of all ages and backgrounds, who share a common interest with me. And Solo Sessions has given us all a platform to share ideas, and most importantly, support one another (this has been invaluable to me, and certainly helped me during lockdown).
M - I first signed up to just improve my fitness however i have got so much more out of this in terms of motivation, dedication and commitment to netball as a sport.
What Superleague team do you support? L - MAVERICKS!!! THUNDER!!! STARS!!! DRAGONS!!! RHINOS!!! WASPS!!! PULSE!!! STORM!!! LIGHTNING!!! BATH!!! SIRENS!!! [I love that my Solo Sessions’ family is made up of fans from ALL the franchises in the Superleague!)
M - for me i don’t really support one superleague team in particular as i support rhinos for Tuaine Keenan and stars for Iman Thomas as i have looked up to both of these girls since Team Northumbria had a franchise but I obviously also support mavericks for the one and only Sasha Corbin she has inspired me so so much and i can’t thank her enough
The 40 Day Challenge may now be complete, but this isn’t the end!
Don’t forget to subscribe to Solo Sessions for more in-depth advice and tips, as well as ideas for coaching sessions.
You can follow me on any of these social media platforms: Instagram: @Sasha_Corbin / @SoloSessionsUK TikTok: @Sasha_Corbin Twitter: @Sasha_Corbin / SoloSessionsUK YouTube: Solo Sessions
So for now my Solo Sessions Family, stay safe, stay motivated and remember we are in this together.
Love Sasha
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