Barbados might have failed to retain the Caribbean Netball Association (CNA) Jean Pierre Under-16 crown at the just concluded championship but a very upbeat and proud unit returned home yesterday from Antigua.
Coach Julie Phillips, who was in charge when Barbados won their second crown in St Kitts in 2012, expressed tremendous pride in the performance of the team and the development of the players since she saw the tournament as developmental.
“Placing second to Jamaica is a great achievement since the height and skills of the Jamaican team, plus the fact that Barbados carried the smallest players in the circle among the other countries demonstrated the hard work and the fight of our players.
“The girls really fought tooth and nail in the Jamaica game and it was only the poor third quarter which sunk our chances. However, the six girls who can return for the next tournament were among those who told me that they saw what was needed and hopefully they will be able to instil that in those newer players coming on,” said Phillips.
However, the coach stressed the need for Barbados to start an aggressive recruitment for taller players and to commence training all year round rather than preparing for a specific tournament. “Getting taller players into the game and paying closer attention to the skill development at an earlier age will be key going forward.”
Even so, Barbados returned with a fair share of silverware, with captain Sheniqua Thomas winning her third MVP title in her fourth and final Under-16 competition. Thomas also walked away with the President’s Award, having taken part in the competition from the age of 11.
Those achievements led to her being described as “special” by CNA president Kathy Harper-Hall.
Barbados also won the Team Spirit award and the overall team shooting trophy with Alyssa Bynoe copping the Best Shooter in that competition.
In the battle among the combined teams reserve player Brianna Holder took the MVP title while Thomas, Shonte Seale, Shakeillia Smith, Amanda Knight and Jamie Drayton were selected among the top 16 from the tournament.
Captain Thomas, while admitting she would have liked to graduate with a repeat win, declared she was extremely happy with the performance of her team.
“The girls played extremely hard and we tried to execute everything which our coaches taught us.
“We recognized that we needed to beat Jamaica to win the tournament and we saw the height of the Jamaicans and how they moved on the court and initially that bothered us. But, we were determined to focus on Barbados’ game and not the Jamaicans.
“In the end, Jamaica won but we were not disgraced and I am very happy with the effort of our girls,” declared Thomas, who will now turn her attention to her CXC exams at Combermere, as well as the Commonwealth Games with the senior netball team.
