Netball Ja not concerned about Sunshine dip

President of Netball Jamaica Karen Rosen-Baugh says the organisation is not overly concerned about the Jamaica Sunshine Girls slipping in the International Netball Federation rankings, but admits there is significant work to be done as the team prepares for this year’s Commonwealth Games.

The Sunshine Girls have endured a difficult past three months after losing back-to-back away Test series to England and Australia.

Jamaica, who dropped one place from third to fourth in the world rankings, were beaten 2–0 by England in December, before suffering a 3–0 defeat against hosts Australia. Australia remain the number-one ranked team in the world, followed by New Zealand and England.

Despite the results, Rosen-Baugh noted that the drop in the rankings was not entirely unexpected, saying that the team had entered both series without a full-strength squad.

“It was not unexpected, because we knew that it was a risk going into those last two series with a not full-strength team, but it was not a reason not to play both series,” Rosen-Baugh said.

“We have to give other players the chance to be on court, and we have to work on the depth of our squad. So we knew it was a risk and, after the results that we had, we knew the rankings were coming up. It is not something we are taking lightly in terms of our strategy moving forward,” she said.

The Sunshine Girls were forced to field a relatively young and inexperienced squad for both series, as several of their star players were unavailable. Among those missing were captain Jhaniele Fowler, Shamera Sterling, Jodi-Ann Ward, Shimona Nelson and Romelda Aiken. Latanya Wilson and Kadie-Ann Dehaney also missed the England series but returned for the matches against Australia.

Rosen-Baugh pointed out that improvements will be necessary in several areas as the team looks to rebuild and strengthen its programme ahead of this year’s Commonwealth Games and next year’s Netball World Cup tournaments, respectively.

“There is definitely work to be done, but that is really a question for the coaching team and also for the administration as well, to make sure that we are working on all of the supporting parts that help to build a strong team,” she said.

“We have team members who are in different parts of the world, so the coaches will have the challenge of building our squad ahead of selection, and seeing what they are doing while they are off in their various club leagues.”

Rosen-Baugh also added that it is very important for her organisation to strengthen the team’s overall support structure, including physical preparation.

“Definitely, there is work to be done in terms of strength and conditioning and the rest of the support that goes with a winning team,” said the NJ boss.

“Everybody in the netball world knows the strength of Jamaica when we are out there in full force. We have a high objective to be on the podium at both the Commonwealth Games and the Netball World Cup, and we are still working towards that objective.”

Rosen-Baugh also highlighted that the selectors will face a difficult task when the time comes to finalise the squad for the major championships.

“We are hoping to have as strong a squad as possible, but we still have a number of players who may be out for certain reasons,” she said.

“The coach is going to work with what she has, and we are expecting to see the development of other players as well. But when selection time comes, it is only 12 players who go to the Commonwealth Games, so the coach and the selection panel will have their work cut out in determining who those 12 players will be.”