The queens of local netball - Jamalco aim to dominate for a very long time

Robert Bailey, Gleaner Writer

Seven consecutive titles is a great achievement but Jamalco's dominance may not end anytime soon.

"We are coming back to defend our title next year because we have three young players who we are going to bring into our squad," said coach Winston Nevers.

"Next year we are going to be a lot stronger because what we are going to do is to leave Elaine (Davis) out for the open league to give her some rest and when Romelda (Aiken) arrives from Australia, we will let her play in the open league," he said.

He added that careful planning and rotation are major reasons for his team's success over the years.

"We have managed to rotate our players because we have had top players like Georgina Hibbert, Tasha Morgan and Elvina Reid who went away overseas, and we were still able to do well in the top competition. We have still managed to fit in players in our system because we won this competition without Romelda Aiken, so you know that we are very strong," he remarked.

Jamalco continued their dominance in the Jamaica Netball Association Berger Paints Super League on Monday with an exciting 2-1 series win over archrivals Waulgrovians. Nevers has worked not only as a coach but also as a motivator.

these girls love me

"I think that a coach is not just a coach because you have be a mother or father figure and that's the reason why we have been doing so well because these girls love me and they play hard for me," he said.

The veteran coach also had high praise for the team's sponsor, Jamalco, which he said, has played a major role in the team's success and the development of a number of young players in Clarendon.

"The Jamalco company really supports these girls because they make them comfortable and I think that we are more comfortable than the other clubs and this is also one of the reasons why we have been so successful for so long," he said.

"We have a feeder programme in Clarendon where the company asked me to go around the schools and pick the players from these schools and bring them into the team and give them coaching from there on," Nevers added. "We also have a top league in Clarendon which Jamalco sponsors and this has also helped us to better develop our players for the Super League competition."

Nevers, who is also the coach of Windalco who finished third in the Super League, said, over the years, Jamalco has been able to attract the best players because of their great history.