Netball shooting for height

The local Netball authorities will be embarking on a programme to get tall girls involved in the sport.{{more}}

This was one of the areas to be addressed by the executive of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association, as it seeks to elevate this country once again to being a potent force in regional netball in the first instance.

Speaking to SEARCHLIGHT during her association’s summer programme, president of the SVGNA Dellarice Duncan noted: “In netball now, you need height to master your ability…You need robust people to play the game.”

Duncan expanded: “We are not saying the players who don’t have that sort of physique can’t play, but it’s just that we need to target people.”

In achieving the goals set out, Duncan disclosed that the association will soon be instituting a talent identification programme, and bring those identified out to the netball court.

Duncan revealed that one such person was spotted from the summer programme.

“We have a player here who is very tall and never played before, but she has the interest; she is17 years old…. We don’t want to see her go, as she has everything it takes to be a good netballer… She just needs to get the skills and learn the rules of the game, and I am sure she will get there,” the local netball president stated.

Duncan said that coming out from the summer programme and the soon to be talent identification exercise, those identified would be gathered at least once per week to get their skills harnessed and fine-tuned.

St Vincent and the Grenadines, apart from its annual sojourn in the OECS Under-23 tournament and the Jean Pierre Under-16 competition, has not featured in any significant way at the senior level since the AFNA tournament in 2010.

St Vincent and the Grenadines’ netball has also missed out on two successive Commonwealth Games, in India – 2010 and Scotland – 2014, after being part of the Melbourne event in 2006 in Australia. (RT)