Manchester Thunder’s Taylor McKevitt will put her medical writing to the side when she takes centre stage at the AO Arena on Sunday.
The centre-court is a key part of a Thunder team set to face off against Loughborough Lightning this weekend in a rematch of last year’s Grand Final.
Like many of her teammates, she juggles netball alongside life as a young professional.
Her captain Amy Carter, who works as a junior doctor at Salford Royal, recently compared her balancing act to the life of television character Hannah Montana.
“Biology was always one of my strongest subjects, but I didn’t wanna work in a lab, so medical writing was a bit more of a creative option,” said McKevitt.
“Because netball is going more into the professional side of things, we have to find jobs that will fit in with our schedule.
“If you were in an office from nine until five, you couldn’t do it, so thankfully they’re really flexible with us.”
McKevitt, who studied biomedicine at the University of Manchester, returned to the Thunder from Strathclyde Sirens in 2023 after previously rising through the ranks of their youth pathway.
She has been appointed as a vice captain ahead of her third season for the club.
“It’s nice to have a bit more stability within the team,” said the 27-year-old.
Sunday’s opener at the AO Arena offers a chance for revenge for the Thunder, who were beaten 70-54 by Loughborough in the Grand Final last season.
“When you are so close, but so far, winning it all is definitely our focus,” she said.
“But it’s a long season and we haven’t even started yet, so we just need to take each game as it comes.”
This year brings a new look Netball Super League.
Nottingham Forest and Birmingham Panthers have been added to the top flight, which has been slimmed down from 10 to eight teams.
The revised format will see clubs play 50% of their matches in major arenas like the AO.
“It’s always good to play at the AO,” said England international McKevitt.
“Netball’s trying to get into bigger arenas and we always have a really strong fan base so it’ll be good to play there again this year.”
Nearly 5,000 fans watched Thunder’s opener at the AO last year and coach Karen Greig, added: “It’s exciting, if we can get bums on seats in our arena games in year one, it’s definitely going to stand us in good stead for year two and three.”
Feature image: Manchester Thunder
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