KINGSTON – Dented by a string of recent weak results, Jamaica will fortify its coaching staff ahead of next year’s World Championships in Singapore with the addition of renowned netball instructor Jill McIntosh.
Marva Bernard, president of, the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA), confirmed that McIntosh would work hand-in-glove with national coach Connie Francis to get the Sunshine Girls in the right shape for Worlds.
“Jill is coming to assist the team next year full-time,” Bernard told the Jamaica Observer newspaper on Wednesday.
“She will be coming in February, and will be working through to the middle of June, and all of our best coaches are going to be working with her, Connie, and the team.”
Jamaica finished fourth at the Commonwealth Games behind Australia, New Zealand and England, the best three sides in the world, according to the latest rankings from the sport’s governing body.
This followed heavy defeats to the Aussies and the New Zealanders on a trip Down Under prior to the Games, as well as a tough, drawn home series with the English.
The move to bring McIntosh has been welcomed by Francis, who believed an extra spark was needed to move the national team to the next level.
“[Jill] has been quite an inspiration to our programme for quite a while,” said Francis.
“She’s an expert at this, and we need to find a way to beat Australia and New Zealand, so her coming in to help our programme will be a huge boost.
“We do need the help, foreign coach, or no foreign coach. We have to recognise that what we’re doing right now needs to stop, or else our netball will sink.”
McIntosh has won multiple World titles both as a player and a coach. She was recently in Jamaica on a six-week stint with the JNA, where she worked with several coaches in the island’s coaching certification programme. (CMC)