Not the last of the Sunshine Girls
Assistant coach backs team for longevity
Published:Sunday | August 13, 2023 | 12:06 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
SUNSHINE GIRLS assistant coach, Shawn Murdock, believes there is more to come even after a bronze medal performance at the recently concluded Netball World Cup in Cape Town, South Africa.
According to Murdock, the abundance of talent on local soil augurs well for the future of the sport.
“Amongst the current crop of girls that we have, I think, arguably, some of the players are among the best in the world. For example, in the three shooters that we had at the World Championships in Jhanielle Fowler-Reid, Shimona Nelson and Romelda Aiken-George, they could easily be rated in the top five shooters in the world.
“All of those players, along with the ones that we have here, are good enough for another cycle or two, and I’m sure there will be others who are up and coming,” said Murdock.
The Sunshine Girls pocketed their fourth bronze in the tournament’s history and the first in 16 years when they defeated New Zealand 52-45 in the third-place playoff.
There are questions about Jamaica being able to maintain its performances with an aging team. Jhaniele Fowler, for instance, the world’s leading shooter, is 34 years old and may not be available for a Netball World Cup in four years.
However, according to Murdock, prospects like Shimona Nelson are already being primed to fill the breach.
“It gives us a good platform in which to build on, so it’s exciting days ahead if we are able to keep these girls. Well, you can say we already have been doing that, as Shimona (Nelson) is pretty young and she’s part of the young crop of girls, and it was a hard decision to not have had her in the final 12. So that means she’s there in terms of the quality that she brings and the future is very bright,” said Murdock.
According to Murdock, though losing a dominant player like Fowler is something that has to be carefully planned for, the intention is to keep the greater part of the team together for the next World Cup cycle, but there are challenges.
“One of the challenges we have as coaches is keeping the players engaged, in the sense of remuneration. I think that’s one of the biggest challenges. They love the sport but our players are now exposed to seeing their peers being paid to do what they’re doing. Of course, country is first and we play with pride and passion, but as they say, encouragement sweetens labour,” he said.