Young Sunshine Girls take tough lessons into game two
Published:Wednesday | January 22, 2025 | 12:09 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
AS THE U21 Sunshine Girls head into ther second game of their three-game series against South Africa today, head coach Annett Daley said the team learnt their lesson after their opening loss over the weekend.
The SPAR Baby Proteas hold a 1-0 lead in the series, defeating the young Sunshine Girls 31-61 on Saturday in a dominant display at the National Indoor Sports Centre.
Having kept up with their opponents for the first two quarters, the Jamaicans crumbled in the second half of the contest, which led to the 30-point loss.
Daley said despite the heavy defeat, she is confident her players will rebound.
“My mantra is that when you fall, what matters is how you get up,” the head coach stated.
“What is important is how they respond and how they respond to the instructions. We have seen that the quality is there and once we put in the work, we expect great things from them.”
Daley said in preparation for the second game of the series, the team has been reviewing video footage of the first encounter to identify the areas for improvement.
She believes that watching the game’s film will allow the girls to see firsthand where they had fallen short and understand the steps needed to put in a more competitive performance.
“The first thing that we have to do is about watching the video,” she said. “I think when they get to see themselves, they can see the things that they are not doing well and the things that they have done well.
She continued, “There were some good areas of play we’ll want to capitalise on and we’ll want to hone in on that. I think that the girls will rise.”
First int’l competition
Daley has, however, called for patience, explaining that this has been their first foray into international competition.
The series against South Africa is one of the first steps in Netball Jamaica’s (NJ) preparations process for the Netball World Youth Cup series set for Gibraltar in September later this year.
Daley explained that the players are still getting accustomed to international netball having only been exposed to competition in the Caribbean region.
“For these ladies, it is first they are playing this kind of netball. So far, we have only played in the Caribbean,” Daley said.
“It is their first international competition so we will be looking at what we would have done and then we will make adjustments as we go along but it is the first in the process and the planning that we have for September.”
Daley also believes the series is part of her learning process as well, as it is her first international assignment with the young Sunshine Girls.
She is focused on identifying the right players suited to ensure Jamaica will be able to compete at the Netball World Youth Cup.
“It is the first game in my journey with the young Sunshine Girls and it is a game about finding out,” she explained.
“It is about finding out those persons who are ready to take on the task of getting us to the World Cup and for us to do well as is customary for Jamaica. It is a finding-out process.”
The match is set to kick off at 3:30 p.m. at the National Indoor Sports Centre.