Head coach of Jamaica’s senior netball team Sasher-Gaye Henry-Wright says the Sunshine Girls are leaving nothing to chance as they chase the Commonwealth Games gold medal.

The local-based squad departs the island today for Glasgow, Scotland, where they will be joined by the overseas-based players for a final training camp ahead of the netball tournament at the OVO Hydro from July 25 to August 2.

For Henry-Wright, the goal is clear, turn the Birmingham 2022 silver medal they won into Glasgow 2026 gold.

“When it comes to the medal, it comes down to performance,” Henry-Wright told the Jamaica Observer.

“It comes down to the team that makes the fewer turnovers, capitalise on each other. It comes down to the girls being mentally tough as a group, playing together as a team. You know, trying to execute the best at what they are doing in terms of strategic plays, in terms of our center pass conversion, in terms of our shooting statistics.

“So, yes, we want to win the gold medal; yes, we want to definitely improve on our last performance at the Commonwealth Games. It’s going to take hard work and I definitely believe that the girls can work hard for that,” she further said.

The preparation got a major lift this week with Kendel, part of the Cari-Med Group, coming on board as the Sunshine Girls’ official nutrition, personal care, pain and vitamin partner in a $20-million cash and products deal.

Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls celebrate during netball competition at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England where they won the silver medal. 

Henry-Wright said the timing could not be better.

“We struggle sometimes financially, in terms of hosting camps and preparing meals for the ladies. So having these products on board is just an awesome deal for us… The nutrition will improve for us. The personal care is a big thing for us and it might sound simple, but it takes cost to care.

“The recovery on and off court will be good for us. Personal care for the ladies — always a benefit, you know, because we need these items as females. So it’s a wow moment. Kendel, Cari-Med, is the first that they’re sponsoring a team sport, and they chose netball. So it is big for us. We’re grateful that they see the vision and they come on in partnership with us because they believe in us,” Henry-Wright explained.

Henry-Wright believes this squad chosen for the Commonwealth Games is Jamaica’s strongest squad in years, boosted by the number of players in Australia’s Suncorp Super Netball League.

“It’s an honour that we have so many players playing in the Suncorp League, which matches up to the best in the world. So they are one of the best in the world. That will give us a lot of depth. It just comes down to who performs the best on the day.

“We have gotten back all our senior players on board, which is good for us. They know they will lead from the front, and the youngsters will feed off them and pick up the slack,” Henry-Wright, a national standout, said.

Henry-Wright said that the team will also feature a debutant in England-based Azara Wilmot, who received her first senior call-up.

“We have a newcomer who has never played with us before, Azara Wilmot. She’s going to be our youngest player on this one and we look forward to that. She brings a lot of depth to the squad… She is settling nicely with the girls. I think they [the girls] will encourage her a lot and she has the right attitude and the mood towards it, so we look forward to her playing,” Henry-Wright, former captain of the Sunshine Girls, stated.

Squad: Shamera Sterling-Humphrey (captain), Latanya Wilson (vice-captain), Shanice Beckford(vice-captain), Kadie-Ann Dehaney, Jodi-Ann Ward, Crystal Plummer, Nicole Dixon-Rochester, Brie Grierson, Abigail Sutherland, Rhae Dixon, Azara Wilmot, and Romelda Aiken-George.