Shooting for combinations - Sunshine Girls get Fowler-Nembhard boost

Head coach of the national senior netball team, Sasher-Gaye Henry-Wright, says the Sunshine Girls have been boosted by the return of ace shooter Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard, and are looking to develop combinations for netball’s upcoming World Cup.

The Sunshine Girls will play in this month’s four-match Horizon Series against England. The first two matches are scheduled for venues in London on November 21 and 22, before the teams travel to Jamaica for the final two encounters on December 5 and 6 at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

World’s best

Fowler-Nembhard, widely regarded as one of the world’s best goalshooters, last represented Jamaica at the 2023 Netball World Cup. She also missed this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, after giving birth. The Sunshine Girls went on to capture the silver medal.

The West Coast Fever player, who competes in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball League, has been named co-captain alongside defender Shamera Sterling-Humphrey for the four-match series.

Henry-Wright welcomed Fowler-Nembhard’s return, saying the experienced shooter will be allowed to regain her form and fitness as she works her way back into the national team.

“I am excited about her. She is just coming from maternity, nothing to lose. She just has to come in and start building and getting back into shape, and so we are happy to have her back for this series and also before the World Cup next year,” Henry-Wright said.

Eager to improve

The Sunshine Girls are eager to use the series to improve their combinations and build towards next year’s World Cup in Australia.

“We are hoping that we can build and improve in each game, because it is a ranking series,. So it is very important that we start strong and finish strong and grow with each game,” she said.

“It is important that we try to get every player on court, because this is one of the preparations that we have going into the World Cup in Australia next year.”

More time with players

The Jamaica coach also underscored her pleasure with the squad, stating that she wants more time with the players.

“We are happy with the team that was selected. It is a blend of experience and youth, and they are familiar with each other as they have been playing together for some time now,” Henry-Wright said.

“We really want to intensify our training, but not having everybody here right now with us is not the ideal situation … . I am hoping that before the World Cup next year we’ll get some more time together.”

Limitation

The team has been preparing without a physical trainer, and Henry-Wright says it is a setback that they are looking to overcome.

“We have a little limitation, to be honest, because we have been without our trainer for some time now, which is over a month, and that is not the ideal situation for us. But I know that Netball Jamaica is working hard to sort that out, so I am just hoping that, with all of that, we can give a good showing for ourselves,” said Henry-Wright.

Keen contest

She expects a keen contest against England.

“England is always a tough opponent because they are very strong, as these ladies play day in, day out and they are professionals, unlike us, where our ladies have to go to work and then come back and train. But we are expecting a keen contest,” she explained.

“We didn’t meet them in the Commonwealth Games in August, which will make it even more interesting. We are happy to always play against them because they are the ones who always give us that support. They are ranked third, and we are ranked fourth, and they won the last series. So we want to win this one, and we are excited about it.”