00:00 Hi, my name is Amara Edgehill. I'm 17 years old. I'm from El Secorro.
00:05 I attended St. George's College from Form 6 and Tuna Puna Secondary from Forms 1 to 5.
00:12 I'm an ebola and I play santa.
00:29 For the past month or so, we transitioned into a period whereby we were doing double sessions.
00:36 We were training almost every day of the week except for Fridays.
00:40 We were interchanging between double sessions and single sessions.
00:45 We would normally have training in the morning around 8am to about 10pm or 11pm.
00:52 Then later in the evening from 4pm to 5pm or 6pm.
00:56 Well, no one in my family actually played sports.
00:59 I think my uncle did some powerlifting for a short period of time.
01:04 But I grew up with my mom and sister. I have a younger sister.
01:08 My mom really focused on getting us involved in a lot of activities as much as possible.
01:16 Even outside of sports and music as well.
01:20 She really pushed us to be outgoing and just confident.
01:25 I remember after SDA, one of the new teachers in the school did netball and she wanted to introduce us to it.
01:33 She showed us a few games and she taught us the rules.
01:37 However, we never got to play.
01:39 Once I entered secondary school and I saw it as an extracurricular, I just had to finish it.
01:44 Because I felt like something that was uncompleted.
01:47 I needed to see it through and see what the game was like and play it.
01:51 I just fell in love instantly and I just enjoyed being active.
01:57 Ever since I was young, I was always running about.
02:00 I just enjoyed that excitement and running.
02:03 I just continued with it and saw it all the way through.
02:06 I'm the captain of this under 18 Commonwealth Youth Team.
02:10 When I started off, it was a bit shaky.
02:13 I was a bit too meek and not as confident in my decisions.
02:19 Slowly, I began to become more confident, be more assertive and ensure that everyone is well cared for.
02:27 I feel as though this team hasn't been like any other.
02:32 From the get-go, we got along really well.
02:35 It was just a lot of vibes and fun.
02:38 I think that helped us to push each other through the training when it got even tougher.
02:43 We never had any big quarrels or anything like that.
02:47 That helped us to bond better because we trained for a short period of time.
02:52 We had eight months of preparation.
02:54 I think this team is all about driving and we are beginning to get that hunger.
03:00 We want this.
03:01 In the beginning, we had prep matches.
03:05 We were actually losing a lot.
03:07 It was giving us down.
03:10 Eventually, as we started to up our play, increase our skills and be more confident in our ability,
03:17 we began to win a few of the games in the South Netball League.
03:23 We had more test matches in Maloney against some men and we won.
03:28 It just felt great.
03:29 I recently went to Tobago and we played two games.
03:33 The first game was against some past senior players and some men as well.
03:40 We came out triumphant.
03:43 I think this year, particularly for me and a lot of players, it has been really difficult.
03:51 I think a lot of the players are new.
03:54 This is our first time making a team.
03:56 This is our debut.
03:58 This journey has been so tough and a lot of the players have seen hardships throughout it.
04:05 Being able to push forward, I personally had a passing within my family.
04:10 That sense of community really helped to carry me through.
04:14 I remember a lot of times before training sessions, bawling my eyes out.
04:18 I think this sport really helps me to push forward.
04:23 I think this is the same thing for a lot of the girls on this very team.
04:28 It's really been difficult, but we ensure to keep each other and hold each other by our arms.
04:33 It's the Under-18 National Netball Team.
04:36 We are not a senior team, although a lot of us aspire to become one of the calypso girls on the senior team.
04:44 I think I've always looked up to my coaches.
04:48 They've always been a big inspiration.
04:51 I think my secondary school coach, who started me off, Ms. Antoinette Gaskin,
04:56 she has been a big help to me and just teaching me the fundamentals.
05:01 I moved forward with Coach Lisa and Coach Sherry
05:04 and they really pushed me to a limit that I didn't know I could reach.
05:09 I think in terms of players, the spirit I see in some of these players is just unlike any other.
05:17 I think Jalissa, she just keeps going and going no matter what hardship hits her.
05:24 She has this love for the sport and this childish energy.
05:29 She keeps that youthful spirit and it just encourages me to be more playful,
05:34 to enjoy the game and to just love it more.
05:37 Right now we're under the training of Ms. Simone, who's in charge of the shooting,
05:42 and Ms. Sijona, Ms. Suzie, she's in charge of defensive and the head coach, Ms. Kyla Keith-Wilson.
05:49 I first met Ms. Suzie and Ms. Simone from under 16 and they've been with me in this journey
05:55 and seen me grow for a very long time in this sport and they are really good coaches.
06:00 Ms. Kyla Keith-Wilson, she's from Tobago and she has brought this new level to the game,
06:06 this new level of coaching. It's absolutely incredible.
06:09 She takes a scientific approach and I really think it's helped us move forward.
06:14 As well as we have Mr. Anthony Mokano, our science man, as we say, our coach man.
06:20 He's the man behind the scenes doing all the statistics.
06:24 It's unreal, the opportunities and the new things that they have shown us.
06:29 Free time, that's not really a thing.
06:35 Maybe when I get a little older I might watch a little TV show or something.
06:43 But I've always only gone finish team this year, so it's school, Naval, home, sleep.
06:49 I get to eat in between, I'm using.
06:53 But I think you break a zone in Naval because you just enjoy it so much
06:59 and you just want to put your all out.
07:01 I just hope that my future is so bright and happy.
07:05 I'm not really sure which path I'm ready to head yet, I'm so young.
07:09 But I really hope to continue with this sport and I hope that potentially I could be one of the Calypso girls
07:15 and just bring something good to the sport and improve it.
07:21 Thanks for being my Express YSS interview.
07:24 Come out and support these Commonwealth Games.
07:27 Shoddy Love. Bye!
07:29 (upbeat music)
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