NJ shines spotlight on mental health

President of Netball Jamaica (NJ), Tricia Robinson, says her organisation has employed the services of a full-time psychologist to work with the Sunshine Girls as they are leaving nothing to chance when it comes to the mental health of the national senior netball players.

The Sunshine Girls recently returned to training for the first time in more than a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic which has infected over 49,031 persons locally, while as many as 974 persons have died from the disease. Figures released by the Ministry of Health and Wellness yesterday showed that 26,641 persons have recovered from the coronavirus while there are 21,034 active cases.

Robinson told STAR Sports that her association had previously employed the services of a psychologist on a part-time basis before major championships, but with the Sunshine Girls being out of action for so long, they have decided to employ one full-time.

A burden for many

The pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic have been a burden for many sports persons. Former West Indies captain Jason Holder recently described cricket during the ongoing COVID-19 environment as the "hardest days" of his career. He mentioned mental exhaustion as one of the major side effects of the biosecure bubble.

"This has been the hardest days of my career so far. Mentally, it gets pretty exhausting and pretty boring," Holder said.

"I think mental health is very important in ensuring that you get through your day-to-day tasks," Robinson said."If the girls need attention, they (psychologists) are there for them because we recognise the importance and we ensure that it is in place for the team. You need the professional on board to assist the respective individuals in terms of whatever it is that is bothering them at times."

The Sunshine Girls are currently preparing for their upcoming Tri-nation home series against South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago in September and the NJ boss underscored that their build-up for the series have been going smoothly.

"We are taking it one day at a time because Jamaica is fortunate that we have so many of our players plying their trade abroad and for those that are here locally, we have ensured that the national coach is doing what she has to do in terms of getting them match ready," said Robinson.

There are several Jamaican players who are currently plying their trade in the Suncorp Netball Super League in Australia and the Vitality Super League in England. They include captain and ace goal shooter Jhaniele Fowler and top defender Shamera Sterling.