'Very annoying!' - Netball Jamaica director hopes for speedy resolution

Netball Jamaica Director, Wayne Lewis said the president, Paula Daley-Morris, and the board are hoping for a quick resolution to the resignation of Sunshine Girls coach Sasher-Gaye Henry.

Although the next meeting between the president and coach is unlikely to take place until some time next week, Lewis noted that the board was very impressed with Henry's work and that the players enjoy working with her. As a result, they are doing their best to facilitate her return, and they hope to accomplish this in short order.

"It (meeting) will not happen this week, but by Sunday [or] Monday, we will know. We suspect it will take place some time next week," he said. "It's very annoying. It's distracting, tiring and time-consuming. It's just untidy. We all want to end this and for things settle down so we can get the momentum going again from what transpired at the Commonwealth Games. We want to work out the issues so things can settle down and the team can start preparing for future tournaments."

In a release from Henry yesterday, she insisted that he has not withdrawn her resignation but felt the meeting with the president last Wednesday was "cordial and constructive".

BOARD SHOCKED

Lewis also revealed that the board was shocked by Henry's sudden resignation but said that based on her outstanding record in her relatively short international coaching career and her impressive rapport with the players, the board thought it would be prudent to do everything possible to have her back as coach.

"The president spoke to her and is of the opinion that she will come back, and she wants to. She showed a willingness to meet with the board, and it is going to happen not this week, but the following week. So the board is on standby to meet with her and we are treating this matter seriously because as a board, we don't understand how someone can just get up and resign like that from a position of importance without any dialogue or meetings prior to the resignation letter. So we were confused and totally shocked by this," he reasoned.

"So we don't know what's happening, and [it is] because we don't know what's happening, why we decided not to accept the resignation letter. Meeting with her will give us a better understanding of what's happening, and then we will be very decisive."

He added that "The team likes having her as coach, and that is very important. Now, we have a coach the team is comfortable and confident working with. So we will try our best to facilitate her. We don't want to upset that and have to go get a new coach with a new philosophy and ideas. We are unsure how that will affect the team. We have something that is working, and we have to give it all the chance for it to work."