NJ boss doubles down

Netball Jamaica (NJ)President Karen Rosen-Baugh says the organisation remains firmly committed to developing home-grown talent and will not rely on overseas-based players to strengthen the Sunshine Girls.

Rosen-Baugh noted that Netball Jamaica has seen a significant increase in interest from England-based players of Jamaican descent seeking to represent the country at the international level.

That interest was particularly evident at the recent Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where, for the first time, three England-based players, Azara Wilmot, Brie Grierson and Rhea Dixon, represented the Sunshine Girls at the same international tournament. Jamaica went on to secure a second consecutive silver medal at the Games.

However, Rosen-Baugh stressed that the inclusion of overseas-based players will not come at the expense of the local development programme.

“We have had interest over the last couple of years from players, particularly in England, who are of Jamaican parentage or descent, and we have found a number of players over the years,” said Rosen-Baugh.

“Our principle and strategy remains the same. So, if you are going to come for a trial for you to get into our programme, you have to be at the level or greater than the team that we are preparing here.”

She said Netball Jamaica’s primary focus remains creating a clear pathway for local players, from the schoolgirl level through to the senior national team.

“We remain focused on preparing pathways for team members in Jamaica from the schoolgirl level right up to the senior level,” she said.

“But we are open to players from the diaspora who are qualified and wanting to represent the land of their birth or their parents’ birth or their grandparents’ birth, and so we will review them. But our programme is definitely focused on building from within Jamaica and bringing players to the highest level.”

Rosen-Baugh emphasised that the successful integration of Wilmot, Grierson and Dixon into the Sunshine Girls squad has demonstrated that overseas-based players can complement, rather than undermine, the local programme.

“I don’t see why there should be any fears because one of those players participated in the Under-21 World Cup last year and she has transitioned to the senior team, and the other two players have participated in the Horizon Series and South Africa Series over the last two years,” she stated.

She also pointed out that the majority of Sunshine Girls players were born and developed in Jamaica’s netball system.

“Most of our players are born and bred in Jamaica, and so I am not sure why there should be some concerns,” she said.

“But, like I have said, we remain open and we are reviewing our players who qualify to play for inclusion in the Sunshine Girls team. We definitely intend on continuing to develop players right here in Jamaica,” Rosen-Baugh said.