Holmwood’s netball coach retires with 33 titles
Published:Sunday | December 15, 2024 | 12:06 AMOrane Buchanan - Staff Reporter
VETERAN netball coach Carline Graham-Powell has called time on her illustrious tenure at Holmwood Technical.
Graham-Powell leaves on a high after the institution defended its under-19 title in the recently concluded ISSA all-island competition with a 43-32 victory over St Catherine High School.
Graham-Powell revealed that it is a fitting time to walk away from her duties.
“This is my last season coaching Holmwood Technical. I’ve decided to move on as the coach. I’ve won 33 titles, all-island and rural. I’ve paid my dues, and it’s time now to take a back seat,” she said.
Graham-Powell, who started coaching at the school in 1995, explained that while it took her a decade to begin winning on a regular basis, it then became a habit as she understood what was needed to get the job done.
“I think I mastered the art of winning, so it became easy for me. I enjoy coaching,. It’s something that I love to do. Also, winning is something that I love to do as I hate the taste of losing. It took me a while to get the winning streak going, so once I started winning in 2005, it became easy because you know exactly what you need to do,” she explained.
The veteran coach gave some insight into how she managed to keep a winning culture at Holmwood, also crediting the support of parents.
“We take them abroad each year. If not, then they go to hotels. We take care of them as they know that at the end of each season, they’ll be getting scholarships. Also, the mothers buy into the programme and work with it,” Graham-Powell shared.
This season, the school missed out on winning the under-16 all-island title as they were beaten 37-25 by Wolmer’s.
“It was a great season. I’ve some wonderful girls, and it was easy coaching them. We had no player that felt that they were bigger than the programme, and it was a beautiful season. We took it one game at a time and enjoyed this season, particularly.”