Sheila nets new unsung hero title

Dec 9 2009 By Sophie Cross

AN INSPIRATIONAL Midland netball coach has been named this year’s West Midlands Sports Unsung Hero.

Sheila Perks, from Bromsgrove, won the accolade for her work coaching netball teams over a period spanning nearly half a century.

Belying her 79 years, Sheila has shared her passion for the sport with thousands of girls at the town’s Ryland Netball Club.

She splits her time between seven teams, seven days a week and received an MBE for her services to netball in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours in recognition of her commitment.

Sheila said she was “overwhelmed” to have won the award, adding: “I am so lucky to have been involved in something I love doing for so long. I would really like to accept this on behalf of the club. It has been a team effort.”

She will join other regional winners of the award at BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2009 in Sheffield on Sunday, where the overall winner will be selected.

Now in its seventh year, the Sports Unsung Hero Award recognises outstanding voluntary contribution by individuals at the grass-roots level of local sport.

The winner will be selected by a judging panel made up of leading figures from the sporting world, a former winner of the unsung hero award and BBC representatives. Scott Paxton, sports development youth worker at the centre, said: “Sheila is one of the most special people I know. She’s a bit of a legend and anyone who has done sport in Bromsgrove knows who Sheila Perks is.”

Andy Knowles, BBC Midlands Today’s sports editor, said: “Sheila certainly is a remarkable lady who personifies exactly what this award is all about. Her devotion to netball has inspired generations to play the game. She is a very worthy winner.”

Ryland Netball Club has been running for more than 40 years.

* For more details visit www.rylandnetballclub.co.uk