Jamaica’s senior women’s coach Hue Menzies says there has been a rigid focus on fitness as his players enter the home straight of preparations ahead of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Olympic qualifying tournament slated for the Dominican Republic starting today.

During a six-day training camp which ends today at Central Winds Park in Winter Springs, Florida, the coach said the emphasis on physical fitness was brought about due to an obvious deficit in this area with some players.

“We have been focusing on the fitness of the players as some of them need work,” Menzies told the Jamaica Observer from their training base on Wednesday.

He noted that the players have been fortunate to be exposed to an environment that lends itself to the total development of the player, and his Reggae Girlz have been taking advantage.

He noted that the players have been fortunate to be exposed to an environment that lends itself to the total development of the player, and his Reggae Girlz have been taking advantage.

“The camp has been absolutely great as there are a lot of resources here for the players. They have a gym where they can work on their fitness; they have very good training fields… the environment is conducive all-round for football,” Menzies noted.

The coach also shared that special attention is being placed on other key aspects as he puts the players through their paces.

“We are emphasising possession football, so we have been doing a lot of small field drills to aid in this area, plus we have been working on various game scenarios,” Menzies said via telephone.

“We have also been working on our transition from defence into attack,” he added.

The USA-based tactician sought to underline the importance of having depth in the player bank because this gives the technical team flexibility when it goes about assembling a team.

“That’s why it’s important for us to have a deep pool of players as, at times, the players you need can’t come as some might have college commitments or some other reason that makes them unavailable.

“But I am very pleased with the players we have here as we have a good group with a lot of experience,” he said.

Menzies, who also oversees other Jamaican women’s teams, said the group has the benefit of a good leader in the Canada-based Christine Exeter.

“She brings a lot of experience and has great leadership qualities on and off the field, plus she has the respect of the other players,” he expressed.

Even though Menzies has expressed appreciation for the camp leading into the tournament, he still wishes he had more time with the players in their current environment.

“You always want more time with your players because it’s important to bond, but we are still happy that we were able to get this time with them,” he noted.

In the first round of CFU play-offs, with other islands hosting additional groups, Jamaica will face hosts Dominican Republic on Sunday and then Dominica two days later. The Dominican Republic and Dominica were due to meet today in the opening encounter.

Menzies conceded that he knows little of the opponents.

“We don’t know much about them. But we expect the hosts in particular to be tough playing at home. But we are very confident; we won’t be underestimating anyone,” he said.

Squad: Local players — Monique Pryce, Konya Plummer, Tashana Vincent, Venecia Reid, Natasha Douglas, Christina Murray; Overseas-based players — Taylor Grant, Nicole McClure, Ashleigh Shim, Chinyelu Asher, Christine Exeter, Alika Keene, Khadija Shaw, Donna-Kay Henry, Shanise Foster, Kai-Lin Hernandez.