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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
GEMS coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki says they have made encouraging progress in their preparations for the Netball World Cup qualifier as they concluded their first camp this week in Harare.
The senior women national team is expected to have a number of camps to build-up for the Regional qualifier for Africa scheduled for August 20 to 27 in Pretoria, South Africa.
Mutsauki said the players have made some strides and the team is shaping up.
“We were really impressed with this camp because the team is actually shaping up. With the way the team is coming up, I think we just need a little bit more competition in defence and attack. So if we can get one defender and two shooters it will help to create more competition.
“But right now, the team that we have is not bad. When we had friendlies with the men’s team, you could tell that we can actually get a good team from the players we had in camp.
“There was competition from all the 19 players. They all performed well and that is what we want.
“They are young players but their performance is encouraging and their endurance is quite good.
“So we are looking at how a player performs and if they can sustain their performance throughout the game.
“So far so good. I have no complains,” said Mutsauki.
However, Mutsauki noted that the door is still open to other players and their aim is to get the best that can help the team qualify for next year’s Netball World Cup to be held in Cape Town, South Africa.
“Our plan is to give every player that deserves to get into the national team the chance to do so. So if we can have another team that matches this group that we had during this camp, we bring them in and I think that will allow us to come up with one of the best teams ever.
“So the door is still open to other players out there who feel they have the potential. That’s why we said we need to bring in the players in batches,” said Mutsauki.
The Gems coach believes with the time they have between now and the qualifier, they can adequately prepare for the competition.
Zimbabwe are hoping to qualify for the World Cup for the second time after making their maiden appearance at the global showpiece in 2019 in Liverpool, England.
“The players now understand most of the aspects, so if we get the chance to have the players in camp for a longer period it helps them to understand what we are trying to implement and what we want them to do.
“So when we get into our next camp, we expect that if we come back with the same players from this group or some of them, we will have somewhere to start.
“We are looking at defence and shooting. Those are the two areas we will continue working on. We need to convert our centre pass, utilise the turnovers.
“Everyone appreciates the effort being made to prepare for the qualifier and everyone is focused,” said Mutsauki.
Online Reporter