Under-21 Netballers Clinch Third Place

By Mosah Mokganedi
Correspondent | Monday October 13, 2008 00:00

 

Botswana finished third after South Africa and Malawi. Other countries that took part in the competition were Swaziland and hosts, Lesotho. Botswana's world ranking also dropped from 19 to 20 after the games.

Coach Lorato Thebeyakgosi said the trip went well and that they learnt many lessons in every game they played. However, Thebeyakgosi believes her girls could have done better. 'Looking at the way the team played we did not deserve to finish third, it is only that players committed mistakes here and there', she said. Most of her players were featuring at international level for the first time, hence they felt intimidated. Physical sides like South Africa intimidated her players most, the coach said. Thebeyakgosi also said because of scarce resources, they did not train well when preparing for the tournament. She explained that most of her players are students so they could not be kept in camp for a long time. Thebeyakgosi said for the team to be able to perform well next time they will need to train together for a long period in order to understand each other.

She said there is also a need to expose players to the outside world so that they are aware of what to expect when going for competitions. Nevertheless, Thebeyakgosi believes that the lessons they learnt would go a long way in shaping her players into a better team. She congratulated her girls, saying they represented the country well both on and off the field of play.  

Team captain Botlhale Moeng also said they learnt vital lessons, especially in terms of the new rules. 'We also learnt that a coach should always sit on a bench and not stand up even when giving instructions to players,' Moeng told Monitor Sport on Friday.

She added that the competition was very tough especially between countries that finished in the top three. She shared her coach's sentiments that they could have done better but most of their players were new and could not cope with the high level of competition.

Botswana Netball Association (BONA) president Tebogo Lebotse gave the team a pat on the back and expressed the hope that the experience gained would help them in future competitions. Lebotse, however, regretted that most of the players who were supposed to be in the team dropped because of pregnancy.

She encouraged the young girls to stay focused in the game and have kids at the right time. 'It is not always easy to go back to sports after having a child,' she reminded them. Two Botswana players also won two of the five individual awards. Oratile Montshiwa of Boasa Netball Club was voted the best shooter while Elsa Rakhudu of Notwane walked away with the best mid-court player award. BONA also sent five umpires to officiate at the competition.