Sunshine Girl Byfield quits
Published:Thursday | August 25, 2011 | 12:00 AM
- Manager Smith calls it a day also; Aiken-Pinnock takes leave of absence
The Sunshine Girls, who had a below-par showing at last month's World Netball Championships (WNC) in Singapore, has been hit by even more setbacks.
Althea Byfield told The Gleaner in an interview yesterday that she had quit the team.
"I am finished with the national team because I think that I have done my time," said the defender.
In an email to the team, the president of the Jamaica Netball Association (JNA), Marva Bernard, had indicated that Byfield was moving in that direction by saying it seemed the defender had quit.
The 28-year-old Byfield is a vete-ran of three World Championships.
Following the WNC, the defender was singled out by Sunshine Girls' coach, Oberon Pitterson, as one of the senior players who failed to spark and inspire others to perform.
One-year leave
Additionally, Byfield's defensive partner, Nicole Aiken-Pinnock, has taken a one-year leave of absence.
The 25-year-old defender was playing her second WNC.
Asked about the impact of losing Aiken, Bernard said: "I cannot answer this because I am not the coach of the team."
According to the same email, the team will also have to find a new manager, after Hyacinth Smith indicated her unwillingness to continue.
Smith has been the manager of the senior team for a numbers years, and served in a number of other administrative positions relating to the Sunshine Girls.
-R.B.