‘STAND BEHIND THEM’

Although finishing off the podium, the coach of Jamaica’s under-21 netball team, Annett Daley, has praised her team for their performance at the just-concluded World Netball Youth Cup.

The young Sunshine Girls returned from the tournament in Gibraltar yesterday after finishing fifth in the 20-team tournament.

After dispatching Tonga 66-43 and Wales 61-43, the team lost 33-64 to eventual third-place finishers England in the group stage.

Jamaica were then beaten by eventual champions Australia 33–85 in the quarter-finals before rebounding against the Cook Islands 57–47 in the consolation group semi-finals and Scotland 53–44 to end fifth at the championship.

Coach Daley felt that the team found the going tough against the traditionally superior teams.

“I would want to be on the podium, but taking all things into consideration, the girls did an excellent job with what they were given. They were in a zone with the third-place finishers, and our intent was that we would, you know, head the zone. However, we fell short. England got the better of us. The experience of the England team showed up, and even when the girls came out in the third quarter and held England to just 10 goals, what happened was that we were not converting the chances that we got, because the England team was a more experienced team, and it showed.”

Ahead of the tournament, the team faced financial difficulties, which impacted their preparation, and Daley put the team’s performance into perspective.

“The Australia match, the same thing, but what we take from this is that the team that won and the team that came third were the only teams to beat us in this competition and the girls, with the limited, limited, and I say ‘limited’ more than once, training and preparation prior, I think, did the country proud. I am hoping that Jamaica will stand behind them, because these are the young girls that are going to be the future, and that is the most important thing – that netball will be that staple that we know.”

Australia lifted the World Netball Youth Cup title after defeating New Zealand, while England finished in third place.

Jamaica’s best finishes at the under-21 Netball World Cup were silver in 2000 and a bronze medal in 2013.