Jess Thirlby

Jess Thirlby (born in 1979) is a retired English netball player and the current head coach of the England national netball team. Thirlby was appointed to the England coaching role in July 2019, replacing Tracey Neville.

Thirlby was Team Bath's first full-time player in 1999 and played in the Superleague winning side in 2005-06, before guiding the club to another four titles as coach. She represented the England national netball team throughout the 1990’s and 2000’s, and was selected in the squad for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. In between coaching stints at Bath, Thirlby coached the Celtic Dragons and the National under-21, 17 and 19 Teams at a number of events, including the World Youth Cup. She left her role as head coach of Bath in January 2019, after 20 years as a player and coach at the club.

Thirlby was appointed as head coach of the England national netball team in July 2019, after the team’s bronze medal finish at the World Cup in Liverpool earlier that month. She became the first netball coach to be selected and graduate from the highly respected UK Sport Elite Coaching Programme.