Vasha throws in netball bibs for the last time as player

TOP NATIONAL NETBALL defender Vasha Adams has announced her intention to retire as a player.

“…I just figured that I can give more in a coaching capacity. The girls they looked up to me, they expect so much from me, and I promised them that I will be there. I am not going anywhere. I am just going to step away from playing, but I will still be there to support them and to help them grow in the sport, ” Adams told SEARCHLIGHT when asked what prompted her to remove her bib for the last time.

Adams made her announcement last Sunday, July 10, in Barbados, following the final game in the Invitational Netball Tournament held at the Sir Garfield Sobers Gymnasium between the Bajan Gems and the senior SVG national team over the weekend.

At the end of the game, she asked the players to gather around, and there she informed them that she had decided to officially retire as a player from the sport of netball, effective immediately.

Sensing something was not right, coach Natasha Batiste who had been in discussion with officials of the Barbados Netball Association quickly walked across, followed by manager Joan Foster-Baynes.

Both had expressions of concern on their faces, which were soon replaced by expressions of sadness as the impact of Vasha’s announcement hit home.

Baptiste, who is also president of the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association said having travelled with Adams on several occasions as coaches for different disciplines, she knows that Adams has sport and netball at heart.

“She is not leaving netball. She will be part of the coaching team that would work to prepare the team to Jamaica, because we recognize as an association, the value and the contribution that Vasha has made to netball in the defensive area.”

“All of our players were really broken tonight, and rightfully so because Vasha has been a strength of encouragement to them. She has been a mentor. She has been their biggest supporter even when they are down, she will be there to support them, and they will miss her as a player, but she will be there as part of the coaching team working with the association to build the defensive capacity of our players, not just at the senior level but also at the under-23,

and also on the at the under-16 level.

“She has a lot to offer.

The game has changed, and she has decided at this point to step away from playing, and she stepped away on a high note. I really thank Vasha for her contribution even though she came as a player, her contribution in rallying and motivating the girls here in Barbados is very commendable and I know that she would do an awesome job as the defense as one of the defensive coaches for our national teams.”

Sitting at the entrance of the Dover Beach Hotel where the St Vincent and the Grenadines netball team stayed during the July 07 – 11, period, Adams told SEARCHLIGHT she had been playing netball all her life.

“I started playing netball at age nine at primary school. I started representing St.Vincent at age 14 at the under-16 level. So I have been playing netball for most of my life.”

In a press release dated July 11, the St.Vincent and the Grenadines Netball Association (SVGNA) expressed “its sincere gratitude to Ms Adams for her contribution as a player over the years. Vasha represented SVG at all levels of competition.”

The release said the organization is looking “forward to even greater things as she embarks on her journey in developing the defensive ability of the players at all national levels as a coach.”