SUNSHINE GIRLS SHOWING GREATER BELIEF AT THE RIGHT TIME

Over the past week Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls took a big step forward in their preparation for the World Netball Championships that comes up in early July. The girls, under the guidance of Australian Technical Director Jill McIntosh, have dispatched the number-three ranked England 57-56 and 55-53 to take an unassailable two-nil lead in their three-match series and are looking better than ever.

Yes, there are still some issues concerning the team’s composure down the stretch as we all witnessed in both wins so far, but this is a Sunshine Girl’s team that would normally drop the first game of the series and struggle the rest of the way, more hoping for a win rather than expecting one.

However, what we have seen in this series is that the Sunshine Girls are looking fitter, stronger and faster. What makes this performance even more special is that they are reaping this success without two of their most experienced players Kasey Evering, who is out with a knee injury and will not be considered for selection for the World Championships, and even more critically the former captain Simone Forbes, who will most likely miss the world championships having been banned for three months after she tested positive for the banned substance Clomifene.

When she arrived in March for her stint as Technical Director, McIntosh, who was the architect of several World Netball Championships for her native Australia, pointed out that significant changes were needed if Jamaica was to have a real shot at the world title. Fitness was key among those issues, she said, as she found that Jamaica would only be competitive for two of the four quarters. As such she said the players who eventually made the team would have to demonstrate a new commitment to training if they were to raise their level of play.

After two months on the job the changes made have been stark. Training has intensified and has been designed with specific purpose. Several of the players have conceded that the intensity has been raised several levels and there have been regular tests to see if players are responding to the new training regime. Marva Bernard, president of the Jamaica Netball Association, has been impressed with the progress shown by her physically gifted team, one that lacked confidence against the top teams in the world. Confidence was also an element of the game that McIntosh said that was essential to the Sunshine Girls success. “They have to go into games knowing that they are going to win,” she said. This, as opposed to hoping for the best, which was the usual mindset whenever Jamaica played the top teams in the world.

Before England arrived Sasha Gaye Henry, a veteran of many failed campaigns expressed renewed confidence. She said the team could not wait for England to get here. Jamaica has always felt it had a chance against the English, now they know they have the measure of their English counterparts.

Jamaica will have to move forward without Evering and Forbes but based on what they have displayed against the English, the duo will hardly be missed. According to the JNA president, able replacements are already on the bench waiting for their turn to shine. The squad will be cut after this England series but one gets the feeling that whoever is selected with form the best 12 available players who will hone their skills as the championships draw ever closer.

McIntosh believes that this is Jamaica’ best shot at a world title based on the depth of talent and the skills that the players possess. The ladies might have believed it before now but surely that mindset is beginning to change. They have defeated one of their fiercest rivals without two of their veterans. The greatest thing, however, is that both games should not have been as close as the scorelines suggested. In both games, Jamaica built commanding leads only for nerves to take their toll down the stretch.

Those nerves will have less of an effect as the collective confidence builds and the team will be physically superior in another two months. Suddenly winning the world championships is not such a pipe dream anymore. One gets the sense that after this series, the girls will not only think they can win it all come July; they will know it.