Karen Greig is returning to the 2024 season as not only Head Coach of Manchester Thunder but is also stepping up as Manchester Thunder Franchise Director.
This role is the perfect fit for Karen who has 18 years experience within Manchester Thunder as a player, Captain, Assistant Coach, Head Coach and now Franchise Director.
Karen’s journey started in 1995 when she was selected for the England U16s squad, going onto represent Netball Europe touring Australia, Trinidad and Barbados. She went on to make the U19s and U21 squads and made her international debut against New Zealand in the Netball World Cup in 2003. Alongside this, she was present in the birth of Manchester Thunder, previously known as Northern Thunder, in 2001. From 2001-2005 she played in the AENA Super Cup, pausing with an injury the following year.
Karen came back fighting after her injury, returning to Thunder as Captain and winning the Netball Super League title in her last game before retirement in 2012. Finishing here was not a question for Karen, and she came back to Thunder as a Technical Coach, bridging the gap between players and coaches which helped us to create the close bond in the Thunder family. In 2014, Tracey Neville promoted Karen to Assistant Coach for two seasons, where she gained valuable experience before taking over from Dan Ryan as Head Coach in August 2016.
During her time with Manchester Thunder, Karen has been involved in all four Netball Super League titles plus winning Fast5 Netball All-Stars for the first time in 2023. She has also had several roles with England Netball, where she has worked as Head Coach of North West Performance Pathway, Roses Academy Selector, Netball World Cup Assistant Coach and U21 Head Coach. Karen’s experience is invaluable to us and with a win ratio of 82% and never ranking lower than 3rd place, having Karen return as Head Coach and her new role of Franchise Director, gives a promising look to the 2024 season.
Karen says, “I am so grateful to Manchester Thunder for believing in me and trusting that I am able to work in this capacity in what I believe to be the best Super League Franchise in the country. As our sport is ever evolving, at Thunder we remain ambitious in plans both on and off the court from our Pathway to Super League. We are looking to regain the Netball Super League title in the 2024 season and we look to continue the success in our Pathway, grow our local community engagement and also our netball academies in Abu Dhabi.”
She added “It’s going to be a huge challenge for me but one I can’t wait to get my teeth sunk into.”