THE first Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) 3M Development Academy ended at the GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport recently with 14 of the island’s best young netball talent participating.

The academy, which was launched last month, is geared towards training, nurturing and exploring local netball talent. It was the first in a series of monthly development academies, which is seen as taking the netball training in Jamaica to the next level.

“The academy envisages a holistic development programme, with the aim being to ensure a continuous unearthing of talent and a ready pool from which the next generation of Sunshine Girls will be drawn from,” JNA president Marva Bernard said.

The Development Academy included daily fitness training, ball skills and drills, positional play and lessons in the rules of netball.

The company 3M last month announced its sponsorship of the academy to the tune of J$10 million over four years until the team is ready for the 2013 World Netball Youth Championships (WYNC).

“We recognised that the programme was in dire need of funding. We were drawn to netball because of the cleanness of the sport and we were also drawn to the fact that the netballers always represented us very well,” 3M sales and marketing manager Shauna Davis told the Observer at the announcement of the partnership.

Meanwhile, the squad played the Spanish Town Under-19 All-Stars team as a part of the community awareness drive, registering an impressive 72-13 victory.

Ascot High School’s Shaunton Matheson was chosen from this practice game and will participate in the next academy.

The next academy will be held at the College of Arts Science and Education (CASE) in Portland from May 21-23.