By Charmaine Austin, Staff ReporterHAVING ALREADY earned the respect of players and the local netball fraternity makes it that more easier for Janet Guy, Oberon Pitterson and Joan Cargill to fulfil their responsibility to the national programme.
Guy was recently named head coach of the national senior team as Maureen Hall's successor while Pitterson was appointed coach of the Under-16 team and Joan Cargill head of the Under-21 unit.
Someone who can motivate players and be a role model are who that the trio believe will make an impact on players and, with their respective player-coach and umpiring backgrounds, the say they are prepared for the challenges that will accompany the new responsibilities.
Guy, the games mistress at Convent of Mercy Alpha is the former Under-21 coach and was most recently assistant to Hall leading up to the World Netball Championships held here last July.
TOP DEFENDER
Pitterson, a former professional basketball player in Turkey, is the senior team captain and a top defender. Cargill was most recently the Under-16 coach.
Said Pitterson, who recently returned from a training stint in Australia: "I'm very prepared for this. I have a chance to look through things that I'd like to work on and I'm in the process of a working on a one-year plan.
"The recent training has prepared me immensely and as a result I'll be able to effectively teach the fundamentals. Once that has been mastered then the rest should come easy and I know I can do well," she said.
The Under-16 players, like their senior counterparts, have monopolised the Caribbean Championship title for many years and Pitterson intends to keep it that way.
The real challenge, she says, will lie in preserving the standard of how victory is earned.
While their definition of leadership is similar, both Guy and Pitterson will take a different approach to the way they will impart their skills.
Pitterson's focus will be on the basics while Guy will aspire to improve the standard of the 'bigger girls' and keep them among the most revered teams in the world.
NEW-LOOK SQUADS
Jamaica's senior and junior netball programmes have been further strengthened with the addition of new players drafted from a series of national squad trials.
Seven players were picked from a field of 65 recruits to boost the senior quota while six former Under-16 representatives earned their way into the Under-21 team.
The seven new senior players are Sedoney Ball-Murphy of Hampshire Sports Club, Marvetta Murray (Waulgrovians), Tashena Parkes (Progressive Strikers) Measha Reid (Jetsetters), Nicola Smith (D.P. Raiders), Sabrina Spence (Arnett Gardens) and Shelly-Ann Whitter (Molynes United).
They join remaining seniors representatives Nadine Bryan, Elaine Davis, Nichola Gibson, Oberon Pitterson and Kasey Evering.
Simone Forbes, Georgia Gordon, Althea Byfield, Sharon Wiles and Carla Williams are all overseas on scholarships and have not yet confirmed whether or not they will be available for selection.
The national Under-21 programme meanwhile will boast former Under-16 stars Neekeesha Connally, Kaydia Kentish, Kameika Sherwood, Tameka Stewart and Tiffannie Wolfe. Also included in the squads are Lavern McKenzie, Tasha Mor-gan and Tamara Hylton.
