THERE’S something about the fighting spirit of the Holmwood Technical athletes — imbedded specifically in the females — that you just can’t help but admire. They showed it last season at Girls Champs when they rallied to reclaim their title from the stuttering pre-season favourites Edwin Allen High. And on Monday evening, it was again in full view at Clarendon Park.

Having surrendered a nine-point lead to Denbigh High in the finals of the ISSA/Digicel Rural Area netball competition, many expected Holmwood to capsize and relinquish their title. But no one from the Christiana-based school panicked. They simply tapped into their inner-strength to peg back Denbigh — winning the game by three points.

Those who have been following this Holmwood story closely in recent months will know that overcoming a tough Denbigh team to win their eighth Senior League title was just the tip of the iceberg. Holmwood have been playing all season under circumstances that could or would have posed serious psychological problems to teams of lesser mental strength.

Face with the tragedy of losing their Junior League captain, Shakeria Muschett, in that untimely September 25 motor vehicle accident — which also claimed the lives of three other schoolmates — Holmwood could have easily lowered their expectation this season. Instead, they soldiered on.

“We are soldiers,” declared coach Carline Graham-Powell earlier in the season. “One of us is down but we are not out. We will carry on the fight. We want to win for Shakeria.”

Asked in an earlier interview how has Holmwood managed to stay on top for so many years, Graham-Powell gave a simple, yet profound response. “When you have won seven All-Island titles you develop (knack for it).”And while admitting that this season — given the circumstances — she has had to become a bit more lenient when the players mess up on the court, Graham-Powell said lowering their expectation was out of the question.

“It just wouldn’t feel normal,” said Graham-Powell in a recent radio interview. And it was with that in mind that she stated their objective for their All-Island play-off against The Queen’s School, who they defeated to win the last installment: “We are going for our eighth All-Island title,” she declared in her usual competitive tone.

For Denbigh High, though, meeting Queen’s in the Junior League play-off might not hold such significance. Yes, it is the game that decides the best Under-16 netball team in the country, but judging from coach Christine Bartley’s comments, this contest might just be treated as a mere bonus to winning the desired rural area title.

“We haven’t seen Queen’s play this season, so we are just going out there to play our own game. I will just tell the players that they have nothing to lose,” Bartley told the Jamaica Observer moments after beating Knox College in Monday’s rural area final.

With all that said, however, there’s no doubt that Bartley’s comments will be rendered irrelevant once the game gets underway. If nothing else, the highly competitive spirit displayed by this group over the course of the season will make sure of that.