KUDOS TO SUNSHINE GIRLS

The Sunshine Girls returned from the 2011 World Netball Series without a medal, finishing fourth after going down to Australia 24-32 in the playoff for third place, but based on what the players and coaches are saying things seem to be on the upswing.

The average age of the team that participated was about 21 years. This, after several of the senior players – some of them toxic – decided to walk away from the team following the disappointment of the World Netball Championships this past summer when the team under-performed. That has allowed in a few young players, eager to represent their country and without the baggage of personality conflicts and grouses that seemingly plagued some of the ‘senior’ players.

What resulted was a more concerted effort during the series that resulted in the Jamaican ladies beating New Zealand, who were defending champions as well as the eventual champions England. It means that there are signs that these girls are improving, and one would suspect that as the new training systems become entrenched, and once the kind of toxic relationships that caused the previous team not to meld in ways that it should are not allowed to develop, the potential for rapid development is significant.

Young and talented players like Patricia McCalla, who was a late call up for the squad after Kimone Tulloch was dropped and suspended for indiscipline; Vangelee Williams, and Malysha Kelly, will form the core of this new team. And with Nadine Bryan, the captain leading the way by example the youngsters have someone they can look to for guidance. Bryan, the veteran of five World Championship campaigns, was named Player of the Series in Liverpool even though her team finished fourth.

Not everyone is in agreement with the way the JNA has chosen to move forward but with a new High Performance Director Maureen Hall, overseeing the developmental process it is not a stretch of the imagination to believe that the pace of improvement will quicken over time. The common consensus coming out of Fastnet 2011 is that once the ladies get the necessary experience of international competition and playing together, a very strong unit will be forged.

President of the Jamaica Netball Association Marva Bernard expressed that the ladies gave a good account of themselves in Liverpool. She also revealed that she was seen improvements in the way the team plays defence, which is going to be key to whatever success the team achieves in the future. Defence was one of the major areas of weakness in the team that performed so poorly at the world championships. Even against the weaker teams the Jamaicans were giving up way too many points. In the preliminary rounds of the world championships, of the top four teams Jamaica gave up the most points to the weaker teams and it was what cost them in the end.

The team has lost the services of Romelda Aitken, who has chosen to remain in Australia where she plays in the ANZ league and where she has chosen to be her new home. She has informed the JNA that she chooses not to be available for selection but with Jhaniele Fowler, the Sunshine Girls have a young, tall and composed goal shooter who in the eyes of many will eventually be even better than Aitken. What that in mind, once play in the centre court and on defence improves, this latest incarnation of the Sunshine Girls should in the near future gel into a formidable unit.