Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls, guided by Head Coach Sasher-Gaye Henry, are intensifying preparations for their highly anticipated international series against England, with a clear focus on fortifying weaknesses and fine-tuning skills.

The Test matches, dubbed the Vitality Netball Horizon Series, mark a crucial milestone for Jamaica’s netballers as they aim to improve their world ranking and gain valuable experience competing against one of the world’s top teams.

Henry said that the Sunshine Girls have been engaging in rigorous training sessions, focusing on teamwork, set plays, and player development to ensure they’re well prepared for the challenges ahead.

“Right now we’re in preparation mode, coming down to wire for our first international series against England,” Henry said. “With series just over a month away, we’re focusing on combination play, addressing weak areas, and sharpening our skills to ensure we’re competitive.”

The Sunshine Girls are to face off against the England Roses on November 16 and 17 at the AO Arena in Manchester, England, and then again on November 25 and 26 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in St Andrew, Jamaica.

Despite facing funding challenges, Henry said that the team’s resilience has been impressive.

“Preparation has been good, but it has been a rough one too. We’ve had a few challenges but we’re working through them. For most part, the girls are putting in the work, but we still need some help in terms of their preparation,” the 44-year-old Henry told the
Jamaica Observer.

“We still need some funding to assist those [players] in terms of meals, stipends, and other basic necessities, but the team is working diligently.”

With most players already in Jamaica, the head coach is optimistic about the team’s unity.

“We’re still waiting on the rest of ladies to come to Jamaica. We have a few persons coming in, but most of the team is here. I mean, one person on the defensive line, but all-in-all, they’re working. They’re putting in the work, and we’re just getting in a lot of game practice now.

“So it’s just to see how well they can push through and work on the set plays and gel together both the seniors and the juniors. It’s very good. We’ve seen a lot of the new ones coming and gelling nicely with the seniors. So I’m just looking forward to the weeks ahead and see how it will fair out for us, which I’m expecting good things,” Henry noted.