Jamaica Sunshine Girls Set Sights on Commonwealth Games Gold in Glasgow

Jamaica's senior netball head coach, Sasher-Gaye Henry-Wright, has made it plain that the Sunshine Girls intend to leave no stone unturned in their push for Commonwealth Games gold.

The locally based members of the squad fly out today for Glasgow, Scotland, where they will link up with overseas-based teammates for a closing training camp before competition opens. Matches at the OVO Hydro run from July 25 through August 2.

For Henry-Wright, the mission is straightforward: convert the silver medal secured at Birmingham 2022 into top-place honours in Glasgow.

"When it comes to the medal, it comes down to performance," Henry-Wright told the Jamaica Observer. "It comes down to the team that makes the fewer turnovers, capitalise on each other. It comes down to the girls being mentally tough as a group, playing together as a team. You know, trying to execute the best at what they are doing in terms of strategic plays, in terms of our center pass conversion, in terms of our shooting statistics.

"So, yes, we want to win the gold medal; yes, we want to definitely improve on our last performance at the Commonwealth Games. It's going to take hard work and I definitely believe that the girls can work hard for that," she further said.

Preparations received a significant boost this week when Kendel, operating under the Cari-Med Group, signed on as the Sunshine Girls' official partner for nutrition, personal care, pain relief and vitamins in a deal worth $20 million in cash and products.

Henry-Wright said the arrangement arrived at exactly the right moment.

"We struggle sometimes financially, in terms of hosting camps and preparing meals for the ladies. So having these products on board is just an awesome deal for us… The nutrition will improve for us. The personal care is a big thing for us and it might sound simple, but it takes cost to care.

"The recovery on and off court will be good for us. Personal care for the ladies — always a benefit, you know, because we need these items as females. So it's a wow moment. Kendel, Cari-Med, is the first that they're sponsoring a team sport, and they chose netball. So it is big for us. We're grateful that they see the vision and they come on in partnership with us because they believe in us," Henry-Wright explained.

The coach described the Commonwealth Games selection as Jamaica's most formidable group in several years, strengthened by the volume of players competing in Australia's Suncorp Super Netball League.

"It's an honour that we have so many players playing in the Suncorp League, which matches up to the best in the world. So they are one of the best in the world. That will give us a lot of depth. It just comes down to who performs the best on the day.

"We have gotten back all our senior players on board, which is good for us. They know they will lead from the front, and the youngsters will feed off them and pick up the slack," Henry-Wright, a former national standout, said.

She also confirmed that England-based Azara Wilmot will make her senior debut and become the youngest member of the travelling party.

"We have a newcomer who has never played with us before, Azara Wilmot. She's going to be our youngest player on this one and we look forward to that. She brings a lot of depth to the squad… She is settling nicely with the girls. I think they [the girls] will encourage her a lot and she has the right attitude and the mood towards it, so we look forward to her playing," Henry-Wright, former captain of the Sunshine Girls, stated.

The 12-player roster comprises Shamera Sterling-Humphrey (captain), Latanya Wilson (vice-captain), Shanice Beckford (vice-captain), Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Jodi-Ann Ward, Crystal Plummer, Nicole Dixon-Rochester, Brie Grierson, Abigail Sutherland, Rhae Dixon, Azara Wilmot, and Romelda Aiken-George.