1 month ago
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AFTER ENDING the 2024 Fast5 Netball tournament in New Zealand bottom-of-the table, losing all six games, Simone Forbes, vice president of Netball Jamaica, explained that sending seven debutantes in a 10-member squad was a strategic approach by the administration to provide much-needed exposure to the country’s younger players.
“It’s not just Jamaica, usually the African countries are the only ones who send their main players. All the other five participating countries generally send their ‘A’ or under-21 team. This is because they, as well, see Fast5 as an opportunity to expose players to international netball. Therefore, it wasn’t about hesitancy (from the senior girls) but was a decision by Netball Jamaica to use this as a gateway for the youngsters,” she explained.
Jamaica failed to improve upon their fifth-place finish at the 2023 staging but Forbes believes despite going winless, she can take solace in the fact that the Sunshine Girls improved game by game and did their best.
“You want to win, but the focus for us was about giving them the opportunity to see what international netball was about. We got better each game and that just showed that learning and the adjustments were made as they progressed. While I know for a fact that the team and the coaches were disappointed with the placing and not winning a game, we’re okay with them doing their best and they did their best,” she added.
Australia made it three wins in a row following their 34-30 victory over hosts New Zealand.
According to Forbes, the young Sunshine Girls are on the right path.
“Uganda brought their best team, England brought a couple of their senior players, so the tournament was tough. You could score a goal and win a game within a minute, so it’s very unpredictable and it was challenging. For us, it showed that the ladies are on the right track,” said the vice president.
English (US) ·