AFTER being called up for the World Cup training squad, Chenika Jones says she won’t let the excitement get the better of her as she wants to make it into the final squad to represent Jamaica at the upcoming Netball World Cup.

Jones, 28, who has been called to the senior Jamaican netball set-up for the first time, is among 30 players currently in training as the Sunshine Girls prepare for the 16th staging of the Netball World Cup which will take place from Friday, July 28 to Sunday, August 6 at the International Convention Centre in Cape Town, South Africa.

“I play business house and club league netball but I guess this is just the right time to be selected as a part of the World Cup training squad. I play business house with National Housing Trust (NHT) and club league with the Ravens, and it is a great feeling to be here. It has always been my dream to represent my country at the highest level and now I have been given the opportunity to do so,” Jones told the Jamaica Observer.

Jones said that if she is given the chance to appear on netball’s biggest stage, it would be huge for her.

“It [going to the Netball World Cup] would mean everything to me. It would mean the world to me. I don’t think I would be able to find the right words to explain how I would feel if I was to make the World Cup squad, but I would be honoured.

“It would be a privilege for me to wear the black, green, and gold colours of Jamaica — and to do so in front of millions around the world, it would be huge for me. I must thank the selection committee for selecting me for training because playing at the World Cup is now my number one goal,” Jones said.

Jones, who specialised in goalkeeping and goal defence, said training has been challenging for her but that she was built for the challenge.

“The training is hard but you know that with dedication and determination, as well as motivation from my friends, I think I will rise to the top. I am willing to give a 110 per cent commitment in this as well. I am willing to make sure that I am present at every training session and doing what I am supposed to do,” the former G C Foster College of Physical Education and Sports player said.

Growing up, Jones said that she admired two of Jamaica’s top defensive players — Shamera Sterling and Nicole Aiken-Pinnock.

“Sterling and Aiken-Pinnock have always been my role models and I have always wanted to follow in their footsteps — and now I have the opportunity to do so. As you know, a goalkeeper’s or goal defence’s job is to secure the ball or help steal or win a ball and get it to the shooters; and if the shooters score, that’s an extra point or goal for your team. The position is essential to any netball game,” Jones explained.