Sunshine Girls settle into Durham base ahead of Commonwealth Games Championships

Jamaica’s senior netball head coach Sasher-Gaye Henry-Wright reports that the Sunshine Girls have adapted smoothly to their training base in Durham, England, as they get ready for the Commonwealth Games Championships later this month.

The camp forms part of the build-up to the tournament in Glasgow, Scotland, running from July 23 to August 2. Jamaica will be seeking to build on their landmark showing at the last Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, where the side won its first silver medal.

Warm-up contests are lined up for July 17 and 19. Henry-Wright said those matches will give the coaching staff a clear look at the group before the championships begin.

“The ladies have settled in very well. We have most of the players here right now and the others will be in shortly, and so we are looking forward to our two practice games this week to see how the ladies will gel,” she said.

She also said conditions in England have helped the athletes adjust without delay.

“The weather here is like what we have in Jamaica and that is good for us. We will be using these games to see the different combinations, and being able to work on our different strategies is very important for us at this time.”

Beyond fitness and skill work on court, she stressed that building unity and reviewing tactics are central aims of the stay.

“We also want to use this camp to do team-building amongst the girls and use our analysis to guide and to make decisions going into these practice games.”

“The girls are in high spirits and they are looking forward to meeting up with the rest of their teammates that they haven’t seen for a while, because, as you know, some of our players play in the Suncorp Super League in Australia. And so, they are excited and we are expecting the bonding to grow as we do our team sessions as well as training together as a unit.”

Getting every selected player in the same place has proved difficult in recent months, she said, which underlines the value of this gathering.

“This camp is very crucial for us because we haven’t had our full complement of our players together for a while now,” she said. “We are bringing in a new player, Azara Wilmot, for her to work with the team, and also the English-based players who have not been with us, even though they come to the camp in Jamaica. But even then, we didn’t have the full complement of our team.”