Namibia head coach Jones Musambani is satisfied with the level of under-21 players selected for the upcoming Netball World Youth Cup qualifiers in Pretoria, South Africa (SA).
He says this would make it easier for the technical team to whip the team into optimum condition for what promises to be a gruelling qualifying competition.
“From Friday, we had our final trials in preparation for Pretoria for the World Cup qualifyers. Everything went well. The players were more active than we thought they would be. We thought at this time of the year lots of players would be unfit, but they gave us a bit of a surprise,” Musambani says.
The bulk of the squad headed to Pretoria next month is made up of players who came through the Nedbank Namibian Newspaper Cup, which this year takes place at Gobabis from 29 March to 1 April.
The training camp is scheduled for the fortnight prior to the competition in SA, Netball Namibia says.
“We chose the best 15 that we can. As you know, no-one is ever happy at the end of the day. Even the ones who did not perform that well will say ‘I deserve to be in the team’.
“That’s the nature of being a coach – you have to take tough decisions,” Musambani says.
The youth world cup is set for Gibraltar from 19 until 28 September, with the World Netball Congress to take place ahead of the tournament on 17 and 18 September.
The tournament will showcases the world’s top 20 teams aged 21 and under.
It will be the first Netball World Youth Cup to take place since 2017, due to the cancellation of the 2021 event, planned for Fiji, because of the risk of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Part of Namibia’s training camp are:
Players – Cheree Brits, Godlove Victor, Loide Kanyolo, Athiella Mbaha, Uapandera Muundjua, Marne du Toit, Aila Andreas, Elizabeth Besser, Hope Kazondovi, Rosa Gowases, Grace Matyayi, Muhimise Jaepa, Tjikarerera Uamburu, Usuta Muvangua, Desdamona Tjirera, and Megan von Lieres.
Coaches – Jones Musambani (head coach), Vijanda Kamberipa (assistant coach), David Tutaleni (assistant coach) and Rudolf Namaseb (strength and conditioning coach).
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