Daley welcomes Under-21 challenge
Published:Sunday | March 14, 2021 | 12:34 AMRaymond Graham - Sunday Gleaner Writer
After an absence of several years, former assistant Coach for the Sunshine Girls, Annette Daley, is back in the national netball programme, after she was recently named head coach of the Under-21 team by Netball Jamaica.
Daley brings tremendous experience to the programme, having coached at three Netball World Cups as well as the Commonwealth Games, Fast5 Championships, World University Games and the Caribbean Championships.
She told The Sunday Gleaner that she is happy to be back in the programme and believes she is well equipped to navigate the challenges, given her experience.
“I am happy to be back because what is required during this COVID time is my experience, which will add great value to the programme,” said Daley, who has been coaching at The Mico University College, Glenmuir High and at the Under-14 level at Wolmer’s Girls’ School, during her time away from the national programme.
Jamaica will be hoping to improve on their fifth-place finish at the 2017 Netball World Youth Cup, which was held in Botswana, when they participate in the tournament this December in Fiji.
ADAPTING AND EXPLORING
However, with the COVID-19 pandemic still creating challenges, which could hamper the preparation of the team, Daley noted, “COVID will affect the preparation in its normal format but we have been adapting and exploring creative ways of getting the job done,” she said. “Activities have been created for the ladies individually, having videos of performances, execution of tasks being sent to coaches for analysis, and getting feedback.”
Daley, however, admitted that the present group of girls have some catching-up to do.
“It will be a tremendous task, as experience is lacking for some above the high-school level, but the local club coaches have been doing a good job and it is now about fine-tuning the skills and building on the knowledge of the game,” Daley shared. “The time in preparing for the tournament is short but, with a clear understanding of shared responsibility and accountability, we will get the job done.”