IRISH midcourt star Corey McGlynn may only be in her early-20s, but has packed a lot into her young netball career.

McGlynn’s journey started as a teenager out in Leicestershire, England. Now playing in England’s Prem 1 competition, she has progressed through the English pathway and played in the underage teams at both Loughborough Lightning and now the Manchester Thunder.

Although she started at the Lightning, she moved to the Thunder’s program siting her desire to play for a top team, with the Thunder being exactly that on the UK scene.

McGlynn also joined the Ireland international setup two years ago, in what was the same year she made the move to the Thunder. While born in the UK, having four Irish born grandparents meant that she could represent the Emerald Isle.

Despite the challenges, McGlynn finds living in one country but representing another internationally “quite fun”.

“Going back over to Ireland once or twice a month is great,” she said. “I feel like it gives you that extra work hard feeling because you’re traveling all the time and I think the travel aspect is always a fun thing to experience while you’re playing sport because it gives you that more professional side to it.”

A midcourter now, McGlynn was a goal defence back in the day thanks to her height. Though, as her peers grew and she did not, she moved back up the court.

She noted that one of her strongest traits is winning the ball back, and that she loves playing centre because she “can add impact in attack and defence.”

Life is pretty busy off-court for McGlynn, too. She is currently at university finishing off a degree in Sport and Exercise Science, while also working for Rolls Royce.

She admits that representing her country while also being a full-time student is “quite difficult”, requiring plenty of time management skills.

“I think communication is obviously the key to it,” she said. “If you’re having a busy week or busy month, you’ve just got to make sure you’re on top, communicating with all your coaches, let your captains know.

“Just staying organised and being on top of work and in the gym and things like that, just to make sure that you don’t fall behind and it doesn’t get all on top of you because it can get stressful at times.”

Like many other talented sportswomen, McGlynn was not a one sport athlete growing up, also playing soccer at a high level. Unfortunately for soccer, she had to choose between the two codes at age 16, and ultimately netball won out.

McGlynn hasn’t looked back since, saying that while (soccer) is a “great sport to play”, netball “took [her] heart.”

With such a packed career already, McGlynn has plenty of highlights.

“I would definitely say for Ireland winning the Euros in my first year. That was amazing feeling,” she said.

“I think everybody just kind of worked their socks off to be there, and it was just a great, great experience.

“Club-wise, setting history in Under 16 Nationals and getting to Prem 1 with my club was obviously amazing.

“Then for Thunder, just stepping out on the court of the Super League this year in some friendlies was just an amazing opportunity and I’ll never forget it.”

Ever the ambitious type, she also has plenty of ultimate career goals.

“I obviously want to play in the Super League, and I want to be a long term player there,” she said.

“I also want to just set as much history as possible in the Ireland team. So just make sure that we get as far as we can, make a World Cup if possible, and just compete and keep building.”