1 month ago
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TWO YEARS after getting a dream trial with Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls, former England Roses player Danielle Jordan-Taft still has aspirations of playing for the homeland of her grandfather, and took the opportunity to play in the Netball Elite League to give herself another shot at achieving that ultimate goal.
“The reason why I’m here is because I love to challenge myself, and it has been a massive dream, after playing for England, to play for Jamaica.
“After trialing two years ago when Connie Francis was here, obviously I had aspirations to play in the squad. And with the changeover (in coach), I believe I had to come again and prove myself. So coming into the Elite League is one step closer to possibly being looked at,” she told The Gleaner.
Now in the prime of her career, Jordan-Taft has experienced playing netball at the highest level in England for more than a decade, and though she admits the level in England is higher, she noted that it has been a great learning experience, and that she will be taking some of the things she has learnt in her time here back to England.
“It has definitely been challenging and enjoyable. If you go into anything, as long as you are learning from what you do, it is definitely worth it.
“The English league is a higher standard. But it is very much a different style of play. In Jamaica the girls play with heart, individually. Whereas in the UK we play more as a unit. Defensively, we all know what our jobs are and we work together in order to win balls.
“It is a different fast, furious way of playing over here, and every girl seems to be very athletic. In the UK we have a different mix, and we learn to use our individual strengths to work in a squad that we are in.
“So even though the level in England is higher, this has definitely given me some edge, and I will be going back and adding that to my game, where I go for everything and work a lot harder, individually,” she said.
She also noted that the game is also umpired differently.
“The empires are a lot stricter in the UK. The umpires would usually make a lot more calls than they do over here, and control the game a little bit different. I think a lot more gets let off so the game can play here.”
Jordan-Taft represented the St Catherine Racers in the ongoing Elite League. However, her team exited the competition without winning a game, and one of her disappointments was not being able to play in her favoured centre position.
It was not until their final game, in the play-offs against Kingston Hummingbirds, that she was given an opportunity to do so, and her impressive small cameo in the role turned heads, especially her exceptional passing ability, movement, and ability to manoeuvre the ball in tight areas.
However, main shooter Simone Gordon was having her worst night and much of her good work went to waste.
Although she believed she could have had a bigger impact on the team playing in her preferred role instead of at wing defence where she was employed, she said it was a learning experience for them all.
“Obviously, we lost every game and have dropped out of the league, which is really sad. It’s not the way I wanted things to go.
“But I was thrown into a team that I’ve never met before and [must decide] how to quickly work out how I can do my part for the team or how I could shine.
“But these are new coaches, who have a very different style to what I am used to, and I had to respect the way they do things and try to fit in and do my part for them. But I am glad I made the leap to play in the Elite. I am so glad that I did this,” she stated.
English (US) ·