Transforming the Future: Rachel Cremin and the Growth of Scotland’s National Pathway

13th October 2025

Over the past six years, Rachel Cremin has been at the heart of building and strengthening Scotland’s national performance pathway — shaping opportunities, driving innovation, and helping athletes, coaches, and volunteers reach new levels of success.

Since joining Netball Scotland in 2019 through a pioneering co-funded role with the University of Strathclyde, Rachel has led the evolution of a programme that now stands as a cornerstone of Scottish netball’s high-performance system.

“When I first applied for these roles, neither position formally existed. I was invited to present a vision – one that connected national pathway growth with access to high-quality competition. Since then, it’s been a remarkable journey of growth, change, and shared success,” said Rachel.

Building a Connected and Competitive Pathway

Rachel’s early vision centred on connection — uniting national squads under one aligned structure and ensuring Scotland’s emerging talent could access meaningful, high-quality competition.

As Head of Pathway, and through roles including Performance Pathway Coach, Coaching Futures Apprentice Coach, and U21 Lead Coach, she has helped shape the athlete journey from U17 through to senior level.

Her hands-on coaching has included leading roles across:

U21 National Squad
Sirens U21 and Development Squads (inaugural Head Coach)
Scottish SuperCup
Assistant Coach for Strathclyde Sirens in the English Netball Superleague

This integrated approach has created a seamless link between the domestic and international stages — ensuring that developing athletes can progress confidently into elite competition.

Pathway Growth and Success

Under Rachel’s leadership, the national pathway has seen extraordinary growth, with record participation, greater alignment, and consistent international success.

“The national pathway in Scotland has seen exponential growth in recent years, coupled with continued success on the international stage, as well as producing athletes who progress into senior domestic and international squads,” Rachel explained.

“I’m incredibly proud of what we have been able to achieve in a relatively short amount of time across coaching, competition, and performance.”

Key achievements include:

Expanded national squad sizes, increasing access and opportunity for athletes.
Reintroduction of the U19 Squad, bridging the U17–U21 gap.
Clear benchmarking and selection criteria to ensure transparency and athlete development.
Combined national pathway camps, aligning all age groups under one vision.
Enhanced access to international match play and tournaments
Creation of the Development SuperCup, providing growth for both athletes and staff.
Expansion of the coaching and team manager network
Collaboration with elite coaches including Kath Tetley, Lesley MacDonald, Tamsin Greenway, and Karen Atkinson.
First-ever NPL tournament invitations for U17 and U19 squads.
Outstanding international results, including:
- U17s: Silver at Europe Netball
- U19s: Winners of the pilot Europe Netball event
- U21s: 1st Place Qualifiers for the World Youth Cup and 6th place overall at the 2025 NWYC.

A Shared Vision and Collective Achievement

For Rachel, the progress made within the pathway is the result of collaboration — a reflection of the collective passion and effort across Scotland’s netball community.

“What we’ve built together in the national pathway is something I’m deeply proud of. As a part-time member of staff leading a pathway that relies on volunteer delivery, what we have been able to achieve is truly incredible,” she said.

“I’m grateful for every opportunity that has been afforded to me and look forward to seeing the evolution of the Scottish pathway moving forwards.”

Continuing the Journey

Rachel now continues her work in performance sport through a full-time role at the University of Strathclyde, maintaining her strong connection to the netball community and its ongoing development. Strathclyde is one of two high performance centres for Netball and the “West” centre will be under Cremin’s stewardship.

Her contribution over the past six years has helped establish a clear, sustainable pathway for athletes and coaches — one that will continue to nurture talent and ambition across the country.

From everyone at Netball Scotland, we thank Rachel for her outstanding contribution and commitment to building a stronger future for Scottish netball.

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