By Charmaine Austin, Staff Reporter
Coach Winston Nevers (right) receives his award from Emile Spence, general manager for Jamaica National Building Society, after his team, Jamalco, won the Open League netball title at the Leila Robinson Courts on Saturday. - Junior Dowie/Staff Photographer
If I have inside of me the stuff to make cocoons, maybe the stuff of butterflies is there too.
- Trina Paulus
IT IS not his statement, but it is certainly the belief of netball coach Winston Nevers who is hankering for a chance to serve at the national level.
"My ambition is to help the national squad and push them even further," Nevers said on Saturday after his team Jamalco won the JNA/JNBS Open League netball title. Jamalco beat Windalco, another team coached by Nevers, 30-22 in the final.
"My only disappointment is for doing so well as a coach for so long and not getting a call to help coach the under-21 nor under-16 nor the senior teams. Netball is the winner at the end of the day and I think with my experience and such I can make a good contribution," he said.
Nevers, a certified A grade netball umpire, has been coaching netball for the past 16 years.
He is best known for his commitment to Jamalco who he has been with for 11 years but Windalco, formerly Port Esquivel (six years), the Clarendon parish team and business house team Bank of Nova Scotia also have his attention.
The former Galaxy Football Club manager (1994-1996) was also tied to May Pen Youth Club's netball team for seven years and business house team National Water Commission for three years.
He has registered success with all but none more so than Jamalco from which he has churned out national representatives and led them to a number of national league titles.
He currently has among his charges national senior team representatives Elaine Davis, Nadine Bryan, Nadine Ffrench, Margaret Byfield, Tiffannie Wolfe, Tasha Morgan, Georgia Gordon and former nationals Lavern McKenzie, Andrea Markland, Winsome Grant, Georgina Hibbert, Neisha Wolfe, Annette Jackson, Marsha Murphy, Shashanna Wellington, Marie Berry and Tomika Hall ... to name a few.
Nevers' closest call for national duties was last year when Berger invited him and another top local coach to help prepare an Invitational team to play New Zealand in a warm-up game prior to a Test match against Jamaica's senior team and against teams across the island.
"I'm grateful to Berger that they saw it fit to give me such a big responsibility. I'm not bemoaning the fact that I have not been called or anything like that. I'm just saying that it would be nice after all this time," he said.
Nevers has been involved with other sports including football and says he chose netball above the rest because it is a disciplined sport.
Besides that, May Pen Youth Club was being forever beaten by a club called "Crackers" in the 1970s and 1980s and he made it his aim to lead the former to victory even if it meant taking a whole lifetime.
"They (Crackers) used to beat us year after year after year but we finally beat them. I really love netball. In those days I made sure to attend every seminar or training course that was put on so I could learn more about the game and I'm still learning even today. Netball is my life," he said.
Nicknamed "Mr Cool" because of his easygoing attitude, Nevers will continue to do what he loves best - coaching - and wait for the call.
"I hope to get a call one day soon. Mrs Rhone (Jamaica Netball Association president) is my good friend and so is Maureen Hall (national coach). I love them dearly but I'd really like to work with the national programme. If they don't call me, so be it. I won't have any hard feelings. I'll love them same way," he said.
Nevers has faced the music and is now ready to help lead the band.
