LIKE it or not, it’s logical and natural in sport for teams to unconsciously ease up after taking an unbeatable lead.

But, it is always important to maintain a ruthless, winning focus so that success is maintained for the long term, for as competitors are constantly reminded: Winning is a habit and so is losing.

Beyond that, success in sport attracts sponsorship from government and the corporate world. That has always been the case but it is even more so in these times, with ever-increasing emphasis on commercial branding.

Hence our satisfaction that Jamaica’s national netballers, the Sunshine Girls, seem determined to complete a 3-0 sweep over visiting South Africa in their series which ends this evening at National Indoor Sports Centre in St Andrew.

A key aspect of a clean sweep is that it will further cement the Sunshine Girls’ ranking at number three in the world, behind Australia and New Zealand. That, of course, can only enhance the team’s chances of attracting solid financial support to strengthen preparation ahead of the next Netball World Cup in 2027.

Our netballers covered themselves in glory in mid-2023 when they took the bronze medal at the World Cup.

After beating England 2-1 late last year to improve their international ranking to number three, and now overcoming lower-ranked South Africa, the expectation must be that our national team will keep improving. That’s to the point where they should be challenging for the gold medal in 2027.

Our reporter tells us that Jamaica’s Head Coach Ms Sasher-Gaye Henry-Wright is insisting that her team will not be taking their foot off the proverbial pedal this evening.

“At no point in time do we want to give up,” she is quoted as saying.

“We really want to press hard, keep doing rotations, and see how the players, especially our [local based] players, adapt… We definitely are going to go a little harder, we want to push harder…,” the coach, who we are reminded is a former national netballer, told this newspaper.

Pushing harder and improving will require more hard work, intensity, efficiency, and ambition — individually and collectively.

The coach reminds us that while goal shooter Ms Shimona Jok (formerly Nelson) has been extremely impressive with her skill and accuracy “we’re still working on delivering the ball to her at the right placement…”

And, Ms Jok told regional television network SportsMax that there is need to reduce turnover (losing possession) of the ball to the opposition.

Said she in part: “…the majority of it was on us having to get our placement and positions better. I think that will be a definite focus for us during training”.

An intriguing aspect of our national netball team’s push to be better has been the apparently seamless embrace of British-born players Mses Brie Grierson and Rhea Dixon. Ms Dixon joined the Sunshine Girls in 2023, Ms Grierson more recently.

We are told that the two have added noticeable quality to the national team play, and Ms Henry-Wright has praised their “calm” and “patience”.

Yet more evidence, if any were needed, of the immense value of the Diaspora to Jamaica’s national life.