DEFENDING champions Holmwood Technical High begin their defence of the Senior League crown against Porus High in a Zone E encounter as the 2018 Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) High Schools Netball League gets underway today at Holmwood, start
DEFENDING champions Holmwood Technical High begin their defence of the Senior League crown against Porus High in a Zone E encounter as the 2018 Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) High Schools Netball League gets underway today at Holmwood, starting at 3:15 pm.
The Junior League competition also gets underway today at 2:30 pm with Denbigh High are the defending Junior League champions and they will play their opening game against Glenmuir High on Wednesday, October 3, at home.
Teams to watch in the Senior League are Holmwood, Denbigh, Manchester High, Bellefield High, May Day High, Herbert Morrison, while in the Junior League, Holmwood, Manchester, Glenmuir, and St Elizabeth Technical High School (STETHS) are the main threats.
Meanwhile, many-time Senior League champions Holmwood, coached by Carline Graham-Powell, should be in good shape after participating in the first-ever Caribbean High Schoolgirls Netball Championships held in Jamaica this past July.
They went down to All-Island Senior League champions Excelsior High in the final, but should be match-ready today to make a winning start.
Graham-Powell said she has lost only one player from the Senior League team that won the title last year, and should not find it difficult to win all their preliminary round matches.
“We actually have the same players from last year and should come out on top in Zone E. Our main problem over the years is that there are not many schools having Senior League teams in our zone, so we have to try and get match practice from clubs in the community,” Graham-Powell said.
She added: “There is a team that looks very good and could be a strong challenger for the Senior title and that is Montego Bay High. They could also be a big danger as they won the Rural Senior League Rally last Friday at Manchester High School.”
Meanwhile, coach of defending Junior League champions Denbigh High, Christine Bartley, said she has a fairly young team but they are expected to stand up to the challenges.
“Our main rivals who should be challenging us for the Junior League title are arch-rival Holmwood, Manchester High and Glenmuir, but Denbigh should be in contention,” said Bartley.
She said the Senior League team is fairly new as majority of the players have graduated, and the junior players have moved up, but they should hold their own as they have the experience.
“Here again, we have Holmwood, Manchester as our two main challengers and should be able to reach the semi-finals and even the final,” Bartley said.
Manchester High beat Holmwood Technical to win the Junior Rally, while Montego High defeated Holmwood Technical to capture the Senior Rally title.