TT open against Bajans in youth netball

TT WILL face Barbados in their opening match of the 2018 Jean Pierre Youth Netball Tournament at the Vigie Multi-purpose Sports Complex in Castries, St Lucia, at 6.30 pm, today.

The Under-16 girls tournament, which ends on Wednesday, will also feature Jamaica, St Lucia, Dominica, Grenada and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Esther James, captain of the TT team, wants the team to display what they learnt in practice. “We looking good and when we go to the tournament we will put our best foot forward and what we learnt in practice we would put into games,” James said during a training session recently.

Tamiah Hernandez, vice-captain of the junior calypso girls, knows the tournament will be competitive but said TT will give it everything they have. Hernandez said, “We know it is not going to be easy, we know it is going to be hard, but the short period of time that we had we trained very hard and we expect to put everything (out) that our coaches taught us and (hopefully) we win and fight to the finish.”

Hernandez said goals will be important during the tournament and she expects Aishah Abdul-Hakeem, Kelelecia George and Kayshanna Duncan to lead the way.

Coach Velma Hazelwood is optimistic TT will have a good showing. Hazelwood said, “We have been training for almost a year despite all the ups and downs...by God’s grace I would think we should place in the first three.”

TT SQUAD

Aishah Abdul-Hakeem (St Francois Girls College), Kayshanna Duncan (Tranquillity Government Secondary), Kelelecia George (Bishops High School, Tobago), Ashley Greig (Scarborough High School), Tamiah Hernandez (South East Port of Spain Secondary), Chinaka Lindsay (Arima Central Government Secondary), Esther James (Bishops High School, Tobago), Akiela O’Neil (El Dorado East Secondary), Kaliyah Stephen (Scarborough Secondary), Kelaiah Stewart (Bishops High School, Tobago), Phoebe Warner (Scarborough Secondary), Destiny Williams (East Mucurapo Secondary),

Reserves

Akeima Estrada (El Dorado East Secondary), Kyla Jattan (El Dorado East Secondary), Mariah Rodriguez (Arima Central Government)

Technical Team

Velma Hazelwood (coach), Lystra Solomon-Simmons (assistant coach), Coreen David (manager), Sojourner Hyles-Lewis (trainer)