EPISODE GUIDE
We’re delighted to share season one of Portrait of a Team with you. The first two episodes premiere on [DATE], with a new episode released every [three] days. You can watch the series here as it unfolds, with episode links and release dates updated below.
EPISODE ONE
The Making of a Team
A team is more than the people named on its roster. As Birmingham Panthers enter their second season with a new head coach and a changing group of players, the opening episode introduces the people responsible for shaping the club on and off the court.
From Executive Chair Alison Kay and CEO Will Collinson to head coach Sonia Mkoloma, The Making of a Team explores the leadership, personalities and expectations behind the Panthers. It also follows the development of the team’s visual identity through the design of its dress, considering how a new club begins to define what it represents.
COMING SOON
EPISODE TWO
Sisterhood
Behind every performance are the relationships that hold a team together. Sisterhood considers friendship, trust and mutual support within elite sport, revealing how connection is built between players whose lives and careers have brought them to Birmingham from across the world, as well as between coaches.
For some, being teammates also means sharing a home and spending much of their lives together away from training. The episode explores the closeness and occasional intensity of living and working alongside one another, as well as the importance of knowing that, once they step onto the court, their teammates will be there for them.
COMING SOON
EPISODE THREE
Body and Mind
Elite sport places demands on the whole person. From training, injury and recovery to confidence, pressure and emotional resilience, Body and Mind examines what professional athletes ask of themselves and what is required when the body or mind does not respond as expected.
In a season in which results frequently went against the Panthers, resilience became more than a sporting cliché. The episode considers how players and staff process disappointment, maintain belief and continue to perform when progress is not immediately reflected on the scoreboard.
COMING SOON
EPISODE FOUR
Preparation and Performance
Preparing to compete means building routines and knowing how to adapt when they’re disrupted. In Preparation and Performance, Panthers players and coaches reflect on what goes into getting a team ready to play, from the work on the training court to bringing a new player into the squad after an injury.
The episode also goes behind the scenes with the Panthers on game day, from the journey to the match to the team talks and personal routines that shape the atmosphere in the changing room before the players take the court.
COMING SOON
EPISODE FIVE
Dual Lives
For many women in elite sport, being an athlete is only one part of life. Although the Netball Super League is moving towards greater professionalisation, the financial and structural realities of the sport mean that many players continue to combine netball with work, study, family responsibilities and preparation for life beyond competition.
Dual Lives follows the different worlds the Panthers move between, examining the ambition, discipline and practical compromises required to sustain an elite sporting career.
COMING SOON
EPISODE SIX
What’s Next
Every season eventually reaches the point at which a team must look beyond it. As players and staff reflect on what has changed, What’s Next turns to contract conversations, selection decisions and the uncertainty that follows the final games.
With short-term contracts and limited security remaining a reality across netball, the episode considers what it means to build a life around a career that can change between seasons. It explores progress, ambition, disappointment and the different futures taking shape both within and beyond the sport.
Read our explanation of the signing window and player eligibility here.
COMING SOON
COMPANION FILM
Behind the Design
The inaugural Birmingham Panthers dress becomes an entry point into the creative process behind modern performance design. Featuring emerging designers Zoe Bennett and Rohan Scott, Behind the Design traces the ideas, references, sketches, fabrics and decisions that transformed an initial brief into the identity worn by the team on court.
More than a film about a netball dress, it is a portrait of two young designers and an exploration of the space where sport, fashion and technical design meet.
COMING SOON
