Grotesque travesty !

The word TRAVESTY when used as a noun means a false, absurd or distorted representation of something.

The Free Dictionary uses the word GROTESQUE when talking about travesty, as in an exaggerated or grotesque imitation. Maybe the people who wrote this definition had a vision of Barbados' netball in 2014.

That a selfish and SH**TY decision to bench the best goal shooter in Barbados at such a crucial time and in such a crucial game, demonstrated that leadership or lack thereof was the hallmark of the persons in charge.

The decision reeked with as much blatant disregard that one wonders if all the horsehair usually worn had gone grey and senility had settled in.

 In Glasgow at the Commonwealth Games,we lost to Trinidad and Tobago by one goal due to poor coaching decisions.Then the  players were allegedly  blamed for NOT having any backbone to defeat a weaker Trinidadian team.

We lost by seven tonight. Will the players have to take the blame again and if so..what for?

Had somebody not been personal and played the standout goal shooter in Laurel Browne, maybe the result would've been different but like so often in the past when words are spoken which people don't like...ALL HELL BREK LOOSE!

People will always ask who guards the guard. This time it should be WHO COACHES THE COACHES?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Congrats Team Barbados on your effort.

Letter to a GARGOYLE!!!!!

To whom it may concern,

In case you're not aware, I have no desire to be on any Board of the Barbados Netball Association where the possibility exists that I would have to sit across a table and look at anyone whose only claim to fame is in a diminished capacity.

I have no desire to listen to or try to read hieroglyphics written by you which makes those written by any doctor seem understandable.

I have no desire to have my name mentioned in the same sentence and at the same time as yours simply because it tarnishes my reputation.

Jealousy is cancerous or green depending on how it is viewed. Maybe the cast that is permanent on what is the first to be seen will go away when the life support system you have changes.

The offended parties or the ones who have the loudest voices are usually the ones with the shallowest of brains and in this case...PLEASE COME TO THE HEAD OF THE CLASS!

Don't start a war if you're not prepared to battle!

Meet the Fockers!

Foolishness as is known to the present hierarchy of netball in the Barbados Netball Association may cause a junior netballer her debut at the national level.

Safepasses and all concerned has been reliably informed that the top guns who are presently in Calgary for the AFNA qualifiers are crying foul about the decision made to leave out the captain of the national team in favour of this junior player.

The questions now to be asked are : (1) When was the decision of exclusion and inclusion made? (2) Who made said decision? (3) Why wasn't the entire Board informed that a decision was to be made? (4) What happens to this junior player both mentally and emotionally?

The level of LAVATORY MATTER which has permeated the entire netball fraternity over the last few days is enough to clog the tanks in Fontabelle and reeks of nothing more than a plot to keep the churchyard team at the top of local netball.

None of this would've happened if the elders of the sport hadn't intervened four years ago when the country was on a climb. Now these same Witches of Eastwick are so embarrassed at the decline they are as quiet as church mice...or is that OGRES?

Barbados as I know it is a democratic society. Netball as I know it is a sport. With that being said, it is high time that the clubs who ARE the powers of netball join forces and do the right thing in ridding the sport of anything with a high ACID level or they are in for two more years of AUTOCRACY!

Pink,green and blue = PH St B

Lavinia Butcher was the captain of a national   team which was  fighting for acceptance. On the 'eve' of the team's departure to a major event. Lavinia realised that an important piece of her travel documents was missing.

She did the right thing and made contact with the management of the  team only to realise she wasn't getting any help from them,especially the second in command.
 
What she didn't know was that in order for any decisions to be made in her favour, she would've needed to be a member of the PINK,GREEN and BLUE club.

Realising the mountain she had to climb and the pitfalls in her way,poor Lavinia tried and tried and TRIED to find what she was looking for but ALAS....wasn't to be.

The day of departure to a rather cold country arrived and Lavinia was informed that she wasn't needed because a newer and younger person had been found to fill the void....Hmmm!

What Lavinia wasn't told was that  when she was searching,her termination papers were being prepared.

Wishing on a COACH

SPAR Proteas coach Elize Kotze remains upbeat about South Africa’s prospects at the world cup in Sydney next year, despite the disappointment of finishing sixth at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Speaking on the opening day of the SPAR National Championships in Cape Town on Monday, Kotze said her goal had been to reach the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games. “We were playing the best netball teams in the world, and we believed we could challenge for a medal,” she said. “I still believe we can do it at the world championships next year. We have beaten England and Jamaica in the past, and I am very positive we can do it again.

“We will have to plan very carefully between now and the world championships and make sure that we have the right players, the right mental attitude and the physicality to compete with the top teams.” Kotze said the team had learned a great deal from the experience and would have a better idea of how to tackle the top teams in Sydney.

“We will select a squad of 25 players to prepare for Sydney, and this will be reduced to 15 early next year. Ideally, I would like them to be compensated for the loss of income so that I can work with them fulltime for two months before the world championships so we develop new tactics and work out how to counter the top teams.

“We also need to play against at least two of the top four countries before we go to Sydney, to hone our skills. If we are to compete against professionals, we need to become professional as well.” Five members of the team that went to Glasgow have been forced to miss the SPAR National Championships because they have no more leave. Kotze said she would ask Netball South Africa compromise on its ruling that players should take part in the SPAR National Championships to be eligible for national selection.

“Those five players are among our very best, and we need them to be part of the squad,” she said. The five players are Maryka Holtzhausen, Adele Niemand, Karla Mostert, Zanele Mdodana and Chrisna van Zyl. Kotze said the selectors would be on the lookout for rising stars. “There is always room for new talent in the team,” she said.


***The following which is in ITALICS  is the opinion of an avid netball fan on what is happening in Barbados and what needs to be done as it relates to the national team***.

To have this type of insight, a coach must be able to move a practice way beyond. 2 drills and a scrimmage. Each training session should have a focus. It has to  be planned from warmup to cooldown. What I have seen so far is a 'go as you please approach'. The only result is absolute failure. We have returned to the days of high disgruntlement among players. The players are no longer enjoying the game. The declaration of " I LOVE MY TEAM" has to be tough love. Make the tough decision, resign in the interest of this team. That will be TRUE LOVE. Your staying around has returned  the team to the graveyard of 2006 when you and the Manager were at the helm of the 12th of 12 teams.

Interesting!

It is a fact!

Last month I was told that a reader of this blog had said if she ever saw her name mentioned, she was gonna be suing because. " I have two lawyers and I want money."

 Admittedly I guess that she would have to be a reader to see her name but in order to do that I would have to write it and it won't happen as long as I am senile.

Well the challenge is real  and not a blind cent ( plastic surgery costs more than 1c).

It is a fact that the plot to be rid of world class shooter Laurel Browne didn't start with an interview which was published  before the Commonwealth Games but during the 2014 Barbados Netball Association's domestic season. It started when the former and still highly sought after shooter Lydia Bishop was approached not once but several times, PRIOR to the friendly series against St Lucia. It started with the visits to another promising shooter who didn't make the 2013 U21 team.

It is also a fact that when some members of the senior national team decided that the fitness test administered today  ( 9-8-14) was a crock of lavatory matter...they were justified in not stepping in the puddle.

It is also a fact that the benchmark of the recently concluded CommGames seemed to be finishing higher than in seventh position established in 2010 by the Alwyn Babb coached team. Oops! Last in 2006,second last in 2014.

It is also a fact that Coach Babb can close his eyes to sleep and be 100 times better than whomever is seeking money from me.

It is also a fact that when the Barbados Netball Association refuse to listen to the voice of the players, they are telling whomever that they have the right to make the most ASSinine decisions.

So finally, it is also a fact that when peas are sowed, sweet potatoes are never reaped. 

Lucky 7

"I wanted to be in the top seven.That was the goal.It was very possible."  

I want a plantation.....I want it at any cost. Sounds familiar? That aint happening neither!!!!! Mr Mighty Mouth did something that has the inventors of netball in Barbados looking in mirrors...OOOPS! They cracked!

"Ireland is at No.7....that was our spot."
 Our spot at this time is 11th in the Commonwealth caused by inadequate preparation and selfish decisions. Maybe if the focus was on the country and not an individual, the results might've been a bit different?

 “We need exposure and that has been showing in our games."
   
England 2012, Northern Ireland 2013, Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica 2014...exposure prior to the devastation that was Glasgow. How much more was needed to showcase what was obviously missing?

Three years after preparation started for the Commonwealth Games, it ended in a mass of destruction for several key players on Team Barbados. SHOOTERS were blamed for not scoring, the MID-COURTERS were blamed for the inability to "get the ball into the circle" and the DEFENDERS for not being tall enough. Guess they got a bit short in Glasgow?

The use of asphalt was blamed for some of the poor performances when this was the only surface we have had when Barbados won an international tournament in Northern Ireland and  it was what we used when our Under 16 team won the Caribbean title.

Maybe the change in surface might've been a factor for the physical injuries but what about the mental scars from the verbal assaults for both these Games and Melbourne 2006? 

Again just as the Barbados Netball Association axed the management of the U21 squad on two occasions prior to the WYC, they can and should do the same  before AFNA 2014. Will they or won't they?

"I love my TEAM!"

Then love the fact that the team needs further help! Love the fact that the team can be better if help that is sorely needed  is sought!