Turbo-charged netball side raring to go
Naledi Lemogang | Wednesday June 28, 2017 16:41
Mawela said preparations have progressed smoothly although the girls have shown signs of World Cup fever.
“We are still working on the mental fitness of the team to ease the nerves,” Mawela said, “therefore we have been talking to them and they attended several counselling sessions and they are getting there”.
She said the team is fit and ready for action and they have done tremendously well throughout their preparations. She said they have practised all strategies to approach the games especially the teams that Botswana faces in Pool C. Botswana kicks off the tournament against Malaysia next week Saturday night.
“We, as the technical team, have improved a lot on how to tackle the games, like reading the play and reacting as well as to predict what would happen. Even our athletes have learnt the same,” she said.
Mawela said they have done the positioning, timing, team communication and tactical knowledge that would allow players to know their opponents’ strengths and weakness.
During the team’s send of ceremony held in Gaborone on Monday, Sarona Hans was announced as the new captain while Katlego Dipatelelo is her deputy.
Athletes were urged to represent the country well by displaying good behaviour as they received the national flag from the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sport and Culture Development, Thapelo Olopeng.
Speaking during the ceremony, Olopeng said the tournament is a great opportunity for athletes to compete with the world’s best players. He said, therefore, there is need for the team to carry the country’s values with them.
“I have every reason to believe that the team management is taking care of the athletes and would provide proper guidance that will bring out the desired outcomes. Therefore, I urge people to support the team throughout the tournament,” Olopeng said.
Meanwhile, the first team to arrive in the country is Cook Island which is in Pool C with Botswana, Uganda, Jamaica and Malaysia. The team arrives tomorrow (Thursday) while most of the teams will arrive next week. Team Botswana will report to the games village on Friday.
The NWYC Local Organising Committee (LOC) said the training grounds are ready and each country will be given two hours per day to train. The University of Botswana (UB) outdoor courts, the Botswana National Youth Counsel (BNYC) grounds, Maruapula School and Molapo indoor sport hall are the training venues.
Meanwhile, all the 70 games will be played on two international standards venues with sprung floor (UB indoor arena and Ditshupo hall) from the July 8-16.