Netball teams’ preparations progressing well

WINDHOEK – Netball Namibia has selected the final 12 under-21 players who will participate in World Cup qualifiers in Botswana next month.

Training has been going on at various venues in Windhoek, where the players were joined by the Tertiary Institutes’ Sport Association of Namibia (TISAN) players who are set to leave for Miami in the United States of America to participate in the World University Games from 10 to 18 July.

A few TISAN players are also part of the under-21s. Also training is the u19 team that will be participating in a preparatory tournament in Boksburg, South Africa from 26 June to 4 July 2016. The u19s will use their South African trip as a measure of what is expected of them in the Region Five Games set to take place in Angola in December.

On-field preparations are said to be going well, with all players now in camp and training regularly in preparation for all these upcoming events.

National team manager Imelda Nerongo expressed excitement at the participation of the selected players.

“Everything is going well so far; the u19s’ funding is sorted but we are still struggling with funding for the u21s. We are therefore appealing to individuals and private companies to come forward and assist us.

“We need money for meals for the teams and for their attire. Government has assisted us, but that’s not enough,” she said.

Nerongo also revealed that some parents have indicated they will accompany the team to Botswana for support. She then urged netball loving Namibians who wish to do the same, to contact the Netball Namibia offices to make arrangements.

At a training session on Thursday at Gymnasium High School, Immanuel Tjivera, the assistant coach for the u19 team, expressed satisfaction with the workout, noting that it was only the second time that the girls had played together in a competitive match as a team.

“They are getting to know each other and I am quite confident they will perform well. We will work hard with them in the next few days so as to improve on a couple of things that we identify during such sessions. Overall I am happy with their level of fitness and commitment,” he said.

In a practice match witnessed by Nampa, the u21s beat the u19s 17-7 on the same day and at the same venue. – Nampa