ANNETT Daley, head coach of Jamaica’s Under-21 netball team, is known for her leadership and tactical prowess. As she prepares the young Sunshine Girls for their match against Tonga in Pool C at the World Netball Youth Cup 2025 in Gibraltar, she emphasised the importance of teamwork and strategy.

The game is scheduled to tip off at 3:00 am Jamaica time on Sunday at the Europa Sports Complex.

Tonga, having lost their first match against Wales 40-58, are expected to come hard at Jamaica, seeking redemption. But Daley is confident in her team’s abilities.

“The intent is that we want to be in the top two coming out of this group. So far, Tonga has lost their first match and therefore they are going to be coming hard because they know that if they lose two matches, basically they will be out of the top two,” Daley told the Jamaica Observer.

“So we know that this is going to be a challenging one for us. It is a good team when we looked at Tonga and so we are going into the match to say that we really have to work hard and to give of our best,” Daley added.

Daley’s approach is centred on executing well-planned strategies that adapt to the game’s situational dynamics. By emphasising team play she underscores that success isn’t about individual efforts but about cohesive teamwork in both attack and defence.

“The plan of action is to execute strategies that we have put in place. The game is situational so we’ve developed various plays they can utilise, based on what we encounter. It depends on the style of play and how we apply the best strategy in each situation. The focus is on team play — you are not going to do it alone so we are attacking as a team and we are defending as a team,” the head coach explained.

Daley expressed satisfaction with the team’s training progress, noting that the players had settled in well despite the challenges of adjusting to the time zone difference.

“Training has been good as there are no issues. The girls have settled in nicely but, you know, the time difference sometimes affected their sleep; but apart from that, training has been good. It’s their first big international game so nerves are expected, but they are exhuming levels of confidence and that’s what I am working with,” Daley stated.

She emphasised her focus on building team chemistry.

“The girls are speaking the right things, in training they are doing the right thing, and each day we are working on that team chemistry. I think that [team chemistry] is the final part; it is not really about skills anymore because the skills set are there — it is now how we execute as a team.

“They [the players] know that’s the focus and they know what the goals are. They know that this is their first match but there is no do-over in this competition so you really have to go out hard,” Daley noted.

The Jamaicans are to next play Sri Lanka on Monday, Wales on Tuesday, and then close out the preliminary round against England on Wednesday.

– Ruddy Allen

Squad — Roxonna McLean (captain), Shaqwan Hamilton (vice-captain), Jada Ricketts, Kaydeen Gordon, Nickesha Powell, Jessica Chaplain, Deandra Edwards, Fentonian Henry, Evelyn Smith, Tianna Reid, Tori Akinrinlola, and Azara Wilmot

Reserves — De-Eziah Martin, Shanai Martin and Mali Akinrinlola