EXPERIENCED?Barbados coach Anna Shepherd is perplexed by the make-up of the two groups after the draw for next year’s Commonwealth Games’ netball competition was unveiled over the weekend.
Barbados have been placed in Pool A with former world champions Australia, who are now ranked at No. 2; third-ranked England; South Africa, who are No. 6, the seventh-ranked Wales and traditionally-strong Trinidad and Tobago, now ninth.
Apart from reigning World champions New Zealand, Jamaica are the next highest ranked side at No. 4 in Pool B which includes newcomers St Lucia, Malawi (fifth), Northern Ireland (11th) and hosts Scotland, who are 13th.
“It is a very tough draw. When you look at both pools, I don’t think they are evenly balanced,” Shepherd said.
“I would really like to know how they arrived at it. It’s baffling. I don’t see how both St Lucia and Scotland could be in the same zone, along with Northern Ireland,” she said.
Shepherd said it was going to be critical for the Barbados national team to play a number of practice matches against quality teams before the tournament which is scheduled for July 23 to August 4, next year in Glasgow.
“I know the [Barbados Netball Association] president [Nisha Cummings] is trying to get something worked out but we definitely need to play some warm-up matches before year-end,” Shepherd said.
“We could also look at a four-nation series between the Caribbean countries who are participating. This would be good competition for us early in the New Year. Around February would be good,” she said.
Shepherd said the Barbados team might have to leave for the Games at least a week ahead of schedule in order to get some tune-up matches against European opposition.
“We definitely have to get prepared and some exposure. I won’t mind playing Jamaica as often as possible. You have to play against the top teams regularly to improve. Australia and New Zealand play each other very often to maintain their standard,” she added.
“But we also need matches against some European teams to get accustomed to their style of play. Wales seems to be doing well, so a few games against them would be good.”
Shepherd has fond memories of Glasgow as it was there in 1987 that she coached Barbados to what remains the highest position in international netball of joint sixth with the Cook Islands.
The long-standing National Sports Council senior coach said it would be extremely helpful if a donation of a treadmill and a spin bike could be made to assist the national netballers in their exercise and training programme at the Netball Stadium.
“This is essential to our training programme. It will help to increase speed, which is a necessary component to compete at international level,” she said.
“The amount of work we have to put in on the asphalt surface, then transition to the wood or mat surface, is painful for the players and can result in endless shin splints.”
