MICHELLE Magee will lead Team NI netball against England in their opening match of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
It will be the 26-year old’s third games having competed in the Gold Coast (2018) and Birmingham (2022). It will, however, be her first as captain of the team.
“It is really exciting to captain the team and especially in Glasgow as it is so close to home so hopefully there will be lots of fans in the crowd for us,” said Magee.
“The captaincy came about as a gradually thing. It has been building over the last few years, we have a lot of young and new talent coming up and I have just kind of transitioned into that role. I find it really good and I’m really well supported.
“We have so many leaders in our group and I’m just really enjoying it. We are always leaning on each other and drawing from other people’s experiences. We’ve girls here who are on their fourth Commonwealth Games and it is always good to have them to draw on.”
As a versatile defender Magee will combine those responsibilities with leading the team from the back on the court, as well as her duties off it.
“It is a balancing act, there is a lot of stuff to do behind the scenes, but once it comes to game time it is all focus on my own performance,” she said.
The Magee family is immersed in netball. Gaelic Football plays a big part too, with Michelle, sister Emma and both of her parents being heavily involved in sport.
“My mum coaches Westside Netball Club, my sister Emma and myself both came through there so we are a big netball family. I love playing with Emma, we always have a bit of fun with each other and it is just good to have a familiar face and someone that knows you so well,” said Michelle.
“We have our goals as a group, we just need to stay focused on ourselves and what success looks like for us.”
Michelle Magee
Magee, who plays her club netball in the Super League with Birmingham Panthers, has a clear goal for Glasgow despite Team NI being drawn in a group with two of the top three ranked sides in the world.
“We want to close the gap between ourselves and the higher ranked nations. I definitely think we can take Tonga and also go into our placing game and win that as well,” said Magee.
“It is definitely good to test yourself against the best in the world. It will be a tough few games, but we have our goals as a group, we just need to stay focused on ourselves and what success looks like for us.”
Magee is hoping to take the experiences she learned from Birmingham four years ago and apply them when the action gets underway in Glasgow.
“There is an importance in sticking together throughout those final few days because it is those games that are the most important. It is just taking the small wins, grow as a group and then finishing really strong in the placing game,” said Magee.
The skipper is keen to have a full experience of the games and is hoping that during her downtime there will be opportunities to go along and support other Team NI athletes.
“We were speaking as a group about the other stuff that we could get to. We have incredible boxers to represent us so it would be amazing to get into one of those events. We’ll have a look at the schedules to see where we can get around and support everybody else,” she said.
