Andre (Sandy) Thomas has always had a passion for netball.Therefore it came as no surprise when he took up the offer to further his coaching and umpiring education in London last month.The father of two successfully completed the IFNA certified Level ‘C’ International coaching course just six months after completing a preliminary course in London.Thomas was invited to broaden his netball horizons in the UK by leading umpire and coach Valerie Shaw.“Valerie came down here to do a tournament (ISL netball tournament) and she recognised that I really wanted to get to the next level and umpire,” Thomas said. “So she insisted I come to England because she saw what we were doing down here wasn’t totally correct.“She wanted me to come to England to be brought up to date as to how netball is supposed to be run and how you are supposed to umpire and she has been my mentor ever since. In England they have a mentor programme when it comes to umpiring. They watch you and mark down the stuff you are not good at and they work on it.”Congratulating Thomas on his achievement was Bermuda Netball Association (BNA) president Tracey Sharrieff.“I am very elated that Andre has accomplished his goal to obtain his first level qualifications as this required quite a bit of personal expense, commitment and travel to the UK,” she said. “The Bermuda Netball Association look forward to seeing what Sandy has to offer us in terms of improving the quality of umpiring here on the Island as this remains one of our biggest challenges.“I know he is not stopping there as he has mentioned taking it to the next level to obtain his ‘B’ Award. We wish him continued success.”Thomas has been involved with netball for the past decade but a fan of the sport since its introduction to Bermuda in the 1970s.“I have been watching netball since its inception up at the National Stadium in 1974 when Dame Lois Browne Evans opened it (netball court),” he said. “I’ve always had a passion for netball.“I’ve done a whole lot of other sports but I just wanted to get away from that brute force like karate and football. I’ve always liked netball which is a quieter sport and less contact.”Thomas reckons local netball is on the rise.“Under the new direction of the president, Tracey Sharrieff, we are headed in a good direction,” he said. “Our senior program was dead in the water but she brought that back to life.‘“We’ve got people who are looking at us now who are very interested in what she wants to do because we are definitely trying to revitalise the sport again.”