NETBALL SUPER LEAGUE: Pavlova pair call up England in Nottingham Forest play-offs

In 2022, aged 18, Pechova was nominated for the BBC’s Young Sports Personality of the Year award and was recognized as one of England’s brightest prospects.

His first senior cap followed in 2023 against New Zealand. Then in 2024, after gaining a scholarship with Bath University, Team Bath was disbanded as part of a major Netball Super League restructure.

Pechova – just like Pavelin, who was also a Bath player – had no time to mope. Instead, he moved his life to Nottingham to join the newly founded Forest.

For Pechova, the unexpected disruption meant she had to commute between Nottingham and Bath – a 300-mile round trip – to pursue her sports management degree.

Life became challenging. In 2025, he was dropped from the Roses senior program and was not initially selected for the Youth World Cup.

“It was a big shock because I thought I was going to have a good season in the Super League,” Pechova told BBC Sport.

This scene left Pechova in need of support. It comes from Nottingham Forest coach Chelsea Pittman, who won Commonwealth Games gold with England in 2018 as a player. Pittman can see how Pechova’s life has turned upside down.

“He was devastated. Rightfully so,” Pittman said.

Forrest was just the right person to approach the coach.

“When I was left out of the England squad, I messaged Chelsea first. She picked me up straight away, we went for a coffee,” Pečova remembers.

Pittman’s coaching philosophy follows a strong belief in player development. Together they had to find a way to bring Pechova back to the Rose fold.

“We’ve seen what he can do with his high performance demeanor and that consistency – what do England need to see from him?” Pittman said.

“And he’s just attacked it. He’s coming up every session to put his best foot forward. He’s very resilient. He wants to watch video; he wants to get better.”