1 year ago
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PRESIDENT OF Netball Jamaica, Tricia Robinson, hailed the recently concluded Youth Summer Invitational as a success.
The four-team tournament, which was played among Denbigh, Norman Manley, Gaynstead high schools and the national under-16 Sunshine Girls, was contested over four match-days and saw the Winston Nevers-coached Denbigh lifting the Marva Bernard Cup following their 37-31 victory over the Jamaica under-16 team.
According to Robinson, Denbigh’s coaching staff showed their experience en route to winning the title.
“It was an excellent tournament for the youngsters, they not only demonstrated their skill sets and talent but their unity and determination on court. I think they (Denbigh) did very well and it spoke to the depth of their coaching staff as it was excellent work from coach Winston Nevers,” said Robinson.
Nevers explained that the youth summer invitational fit perfectly with his team’s training programme, which he believes played a huge part in their victory.
“When we got the invitation, it was right in the middle of our camp. The preparation leading up the tournament was good because we already had the players focusing on netball from morning to evening. We also had Hayes United Youth Club giving us practice matches twice per week, so we were fully prepared to take on any team,” he stated.
The tournament was scheduled to have two teams from Trinidad and Tobago participating, an under-16 and under-18, who pulled out prior to the start of the tournament. According to Nevers the all-local team tournament gave surprising insights as to what he’ll expect in the upcoming high school competition.
“It was a very good tournament because for us we saw different styles of play. For example, Norman Manley is a short team, therefore they play a lot of low balls and you really have to exert a lot of effort. The national team tends to play high because of their height. Therefore, the tournament gave you a lot of things to study ahead of the Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association netball competition,” he added.
Denbigh’s Leneice Williams was voted the tournament’s most valuable player and Nevers believes a contract in the Australian Suncorp League is on the horizon.
“She’s a strong player who is fearless. Her shooting has improved and she is the one who gave the Denbigh team a significant advantage over their opponents. I expect her to go further in the sport and secure a contract in Australia. She’s only 16 and I also expect her in the next few season to become a very good netballer for the national team,” said Nevers.
English (US) ·