T&T's women netball team which claimed the Americas Federation of Netball Associations (AFNA) Qualifiers title in St Lucia, returned home last night. The "Calypso Girls" ranked eighth in the world, finished the tournament as the only unbeaten team on its way to winning the tournament and in the process claiming one of the two spots for AFNA teams for the 2011 World Championships in Singapore. The twin-island women had an excellent all round performance, led by goalshoot Anastascia Wilson, who had an amazing goal average of 92.19.
Head coach, Bridget Adams said the performance was expected of the team. "Our preparation for this tournament was excellent and as a result we were able to come out and outplay all the teams. The girls were fit, accurate in shooting and very strong in defense." She heaped praises on the senior players for doing their part in helping the young players. "All the senior players had roles to fill and they did an excellent job. They assisted the young players, which made it easier for them on the court." Adams said the reason the team did not win by wide margins was due to the fact that the coaching staff were giving the young players a feel.
"We have the Commonwealth Games in October and it was imperative that we give some of the players expected to play in that tournament a feel of things." The head coach also felt that Wilson, who had a recent stint in the United Kingdom, was able to improve her game. "Stacy has shown a lot of improvement, especially in her shooting, and this benefitted the team in the end. She is an experience player and she used it well." Meanwhile, Barbados qualified as the other team for the World Championships ahead of St Lucia and the United States, by virtue of having a better goal average.
