Jersey’s netball stars are away in the Isle of Man this week to compete at the inaugural Netball Island Games.
Experienced head Lauren Devine is captain of the side for the week, and caught up with Dan ahead of the tournament.
Firstly tell us about the competition and how much the team are looking forward to competing?
It’s the Inaugural Netball Island Games and we have been invited by the Isle of Man along with Orkney, Shetland Islands, Yns Mon and Guernsey. Each team plays each other once over the week, so there is no semi-finals or finals, with the points deciding positions and who wins the medals.’
‘It is a game a day so that is a heavy load but we are so excited. Many of us would have been in positions previously where we have been frustrated not to be apart of the Island Games, and that netball hasn’t been represented so to finally have this opportunity is incredible.
The coaches have picked a squad mixed with youth and experience – how happy are you with it?
I think it is an amazing squad. The team have bonded and gelled really well. It is a really mixed bag in terms of experience, I am 19 years older than the youngest player! We have youth who are fearless and tenacious, and although they might be apprehensive going into the tournament, as soon as they play that goes out the window. Then we have some experienced heads like myself but then again, we haven’t played in competitions like this. I am delighted with the squad that we do have, not only for the different players we can bring in to have different impacts, but also for the personal that we have and how the team are getting on away from the court.
What are the aims for the team going into the tournament?
Initially if you had asked us we would have set our aim at the pinnacle of this competition, and that aim has not gone away. We still want to do the best that we can and if that is the gold medal, then that is what it is. However, in all honesty it is about the process to get there and that is what we have worked on in training. We have to put certain processes in place to win the games and those processes look at our principles, our basics and our fundamentals. I believe if we execute these well, we will have an outcome we can be proud of. We want to be more process orientated than goal orientated at the moment, and that means thinking day to day, rather than to far ahead.
Finally, how much do you enjoy representing Jersey and how much of a privilege is it to captain this side?
Personally representing Jersey for me is an absolute honour. I remember my first inter-insular for U11s and I remember how nervous I was, so even from back then it has been so important for me. To be still representing my island having come back to netball after a substantial break really is a privilege. We all had to make sacrifices to go to the tournament, so to have the support of each other is crucial. It is a great group of girls and an amazing squad, so to captain the side is my privilege. I can’t imagine I will have too many more opportunities to do this so I want to enjoy the journey and make the most of it.
