Hubert Lawrence | Sunshine Girls coaching decision requires cool heads

When 2014 World Cup winner Germany were bundled out of last year’s renewal of the global football showcase, it seemed certain that coach Joachim Low was doomed.

Der Mannshaft failed to reach the knockout stage and followed that with a modest performance in the inaugural European Nations Cup in 2019. Despite that, Low still reigns.

His retention offers surprising logic to the coaching dilemma facing Jamaica’s netball. Presumably, Low was retained because of his glittering track record. Not only did he pilot the Germans to a brilliant win in the 2014 World Cup, Low also played a key role in the successes achieved while star striker- turned-coach Jurgen Klinsmann was in charge.

When Klinsmann stepped away, Low accepted the top job, and took the team back to the semi-finals finish in 2010. In 2014, he engineered the first World Cup win in South America by a European team.

On top of that, with Low at the control tower, Germany bossed the 2017 Confederations Cup.

Presumably, when push came to shove after the 2018 World Cup, his track record saved him. When tempers cool, those who sign on the dotted line may be wise to offer the same reprieve to Sunshine Girls coach Marvette Anderson. Even if the sting lingers from this year’s disappointing fifth-place finish at the Netball World Cup, it’s hard to forget how proud the Girls have made us since Anderson and Sasha Gaye-Henry took over as interim national coaches in 2017.

They snatched a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast last year. Then to confirm the impression of a team ready for great things, Jamaica played their way to second place in the World Fast 5 tournament. In other words, the Anderson coaching unit has delivered results.

Financial Woes

It goes without saying that there are big differences between Low and Anderson. His list of international success is longer. Another is that he works through the vast financial resources of German football. By contrast, support to Jamaican netball is so meagre that Netball Jamaica had to ask the public to support the team with individual $500 donations as it sought to pay its way to Liverpool for the World Cup last month.

Whether Anderson keeps her job or not, Jamaica must address the gap between how much we spend on netball and how much our international rivals spend. Netball needs an indoor home of its own, with all the facilities of a modern sport organisation to support medical care, weight training, sport psychology, physiotherapy, a video review hall and a full-time research and scouting team to prepare for all competitions.

That’s how big teams operate in the 21st century.

Had those resources been in place in 2003, Jamaica might have triumphed when the Netball World Cup was played here. That wonderful team, with Forbes and Pitterson, Gordon, Francis et al, was on its way to the final when Australia turned a mid-match power cut into a psychological turning point. The break stopped the Girls’ winning flow and gave the Aussies the upper hand.

Winning at the World Cup in 2023 or 2027 will be a pipe dream unless the Girls stand on equal footing with their rivals. Given our smaller talent pool, Jamaica might even need to outspend the likes of New Zealand, Australia, England and South Africa to create parity.

The choice of national coach is crucial. The right choice can open tactical and technical doors to success but there is a bigger question – are we serious?

Hubert Lawrence is a renowned sports analyst and commentator.