THE Baby Pearls under-21 netball team is leaving no stone unturned as they prepare for the upcoming World Netball Youth Cup in Gibraltar in September.
Their rigorous training began in April with a competition in Australia at the Netball Queensland U21 competition, and now they are gearing up for the Invitational tournament.
The team, coached by Simone Nalatu, is focused on providing more gametime opportunities for the players to gain exposure and experience.
Nalatu emphasised the importance of the players being able to adapt to different styles of play, regardless of the opposition they face.
“We really want to provide more gametime opportunity to our players to get that exposure and to learn because that’s what they’ll need to bring for final selection, and that’s the kind of players we’ll need when we go to the World Cup, players that are able to adapt to various styles regardless of who the opposition is,” Nalatu said.
The Invitational tournament will feature strong competition, including teams like South Coast Blaze and the New South Wales Fijian U21 squad.
Team manager Lusiana Rakavono highlighted the team’s preparation and training since returning from Australia.
“This is the fifth week of our preparation since our trip to Australia, preparation has been going on well, we had scrimmage with the Fiji Men’s team last week which gave us a good platform to test the players in terms of the intensity of the game,” said Ravono.
“In terms of improvement, we’ve done our reflection, and we’ve set out the programs as well to suit whatever is needed in our areas of improvement and with that, we’ve been working with the S&C coaches and the 2 assistant coaches here on the ground.”
Rakavono emphasised the importance of this upcoming campaign in setting the right tone for the team in the lead up to the World Cup in September.
“We believe this platform is very crucial as we prepare for the girls leading up to the World Cup, we would like to execute what we have learned all along with girls.”
Meanwhile, all matches for the Invitational tournament will take place at the Vodafone Arena in Suva from July 7-11.
