NATIONAL senior netball team coach Connie Francis said if an overseas coach is what is needed to take Jamaica’s game to next level then she is willing to step aside.

“Anything to make our netball better, if it’s a foreign coach, that’s okay,” she told the Observer.

Francis has come under heavy criticism throughout her tenure as chief conditioner of the Sunshine Girls, but more so this summer after they were whipped 5-0 in two test series in Australia and New Zealand as well as 53-42 in the first game of the 2010 NCB Sunshine Series against England at the National Indoor Sports Centre on Wednesday.

Following Friday’s second match, which the Jamaicans won 52-45 to beat England for the first time since 2007, Francis said that this kind of criticism is nothing new as her predecessors also endured it, but if that is what Jamaica needs, she would step down.

“Because I am not a selfish person. I am here to help Jamaica to rise to the next level,” she said.

Francis, a former national player and captain herself, said that during her playing days, then coach Maureen Hall also came under fire for not being able to take the team past a third place finish at the World Netball Championships (WNC).

“It was the same talk, so if that’s what the public wants, hey, go ahead,” said Francis. “Anybody to help us win that World Championships.”

Francis was also criticised ahead of the 2007 WNC when Jamaica was expected to finish poorly, but surprised many by taking the bronze medal with a one-point victory over England — the last time the Sunshine Girls beat their old nemesis.

Jamaica Netball Association (JNA) president Marva Bernard said an overseas coach is not so much the issue. She said what the team needs is a full-time coach.

“We need a full-time coach. It would be foolish to say we are not looking at a foreign coach. Our coaches are part time (and cannot give) the girls the individual attention they need…,” she said.

“We are not ruling out any of the options that would give us a competitive edge,” Bernard added. “We have always considered and always ensured that we have qualified people to take things forward.”

She added that the team also needs the right infrastructure to help them to be able to properly compete with the top three teams — Australia, New Zealand and England.

“A full-time coach would have time to go around the island and identify the talent, (because) we just don’t have the infrastructure,” Bernard noted.

There has also been talk M that Jamalco/Windalco coach Winston Nevers would make a good option, a point Bernard addressed.

“The JNA has a process. I have the greatest respect for him, but we spent a lot of money doing a JNA coaching certification scheme, and we have it there and people should come forward, and we have to have it at all levels of national teams,” she said.

Friday’s victory was sweet revenge and the first taste of success in international netball in seven matches for the national team.

Perhaps it was the embarrassment of Wednesday’s defeat, but Jamaica looked a different team from the one which played then and were on fire from the outset.

They had gone up 7-3 within minutes of the start on the back of some early interceptions by goal defence Kasey Evering and aggressive shooting from Romelda Aiken.

England were not to be kept on the back-foot for long as the accurate goal-attack Pamela Cookey and tall goal-shooter Jo Harten took advantage of sloppy passing by the Jamaicans and had levelled the score at 13 all at the end of the first quarter.

Despite her pronouncements of going with youth early out, Francis made only one change to the team which started on Wednesday, bringing in Kimone Tulloch in centre for Paula Thompson.

Thompson was back in by the start of the second quarter, while Malysha Kelly substituted the returning Evering.

The Sunshine Girls were able to take advantage of a number of turnovers in the second quarter to resounding cheers from an almost-full NISC as they took the lead and were up by eight points by the end of the quarter, 31-23.

The home side capitalised on their advantage to go up by their widest margin (10 points) of the game as the second half of the match started in much the same manner as the first.

Francis was forced to call a time out twice in the latter stages of the third quarter as the English players started slowly whittling away at the Jamaican lead, taking it back down to within five by the end of third quarter 39-34.

The match got very aggressive close to the end as desperation set in for both sides as they chased the victory.

Romelda Aiken led all scorers with 38 goals from 47 attempts, while England’s Cookey had 27 from 33.