JAMAICA Netball Association (JNA) President Marva Bernard believes the senior Sunshine Girls can break into the top-two world rankings, despite the team going through a rebuilding phase.

The Jamaicans, guided by former national player Oberon Pitterson-Nattie, are currently ranked fourth in the world and are set for an uphill battle when they meet number three-rated England next month.

Bernard appeared unfazed by the prospect and insisted that Jamaica, consisting of a number of upcoming Under-21 players, need to challenge the top teams in order to develop on the world stage.

“We are working hard to improve our ranking significantly looking to get amongst the top teams. One of the ways we can narrow the gap on the better teams is for us to be able to support the number of international exchanges so that national players get to compete with countries like Australia and New Zealand.

“Ultimately, our wish is to make Jamaica the number one team in the world and to make netball the number one sport in Jamaica,” she said during the recent Jamaica Observer Monday Exchange at the company’s Beechwood Avenue headquarters .

New Zealand are presently the world’s top team, while former number one Australia, who lost a recent Test series to England, lie in second place.

The local netball president conceded the recent spate of retirement of several experienced national netballers coupled with the absence of players taking part in the ANZ Netball Championships has affected the team’s potency.

Despite that admission, Bernard steered clear of commenting on whether the national senior team risks falling further behind its more illustrious rivals.

“The fact that some senior players have retired is there for all to see. I want to see what happens when England comes here with the nucleus of players that we have and basically speaking I don’t know that the gap is widening. We should wait to see how that (series) pans out.

“We still are fourth and we have players who are overseas in professional leagues working. It would not be fair for me to comment whether the gap is widening or not,” she said, while adding that the Jamaicans are feared on the international stage due to their athleticism and raw talent.

While announcing a restructuring initiative being undertaken by the JNA, which includes emphasis on technical competence, Bernard said the association will next year acquire an overseas coach to assist the current staff.

“One of the things that (JNA high performance director) Maureen (Hall) has asked us for as a board is to give her some support with a well-qualified overseas coach to assist and upscale our coaches. We are looking into that and only because of (lack of) funding we have not been able to do it this year but we will be able to give her that kind of support next year,” she said.

Bernard declined to name the person being considered.

She added, however, that with the longer-term goal of getting the team primed for a serious assault on the 2015 World Netball Championships, she is confident that having the overseas coach will boost the programme.

“I know that at any point in time when you have lost experience you are going to have to work hard to build and get a competitive unit. But I know that we can improve with the help of the overseas coach that Maureen has asked for to assist ahead of the World Championships,” Bernard said.

Aside from the technical aspect, areas of restructuring that the JNA is looking at are branding, outreach and expansion, business development and streamlining of governance.

Hall threw her support behind the JNA’s restructuring programmes, declaring they are key elements in helping the development of the sport. She argued that any improvement in the lesser netball nations is welcomed by all and is in the best interest of the International Netball Federation (INF).

“They (INF) are hoping to bridge the game because they are not satisfied that over the last five tournaments it’s the same two teams in the final. They are not happy about it and after a while people will lose interest. The sport has that challenge and they want to bridge the gap because that’s the only way netball can survive,” she said.

As the JNA looks to introduce a professional franchise-based league, the high-performance director took aim at weaknesses she identifies on the local club circuit.

“Some club teams in Jamaica are loaded with national players and don’t get enough competitive action. That’s ridiculous compared to netballers in the ANZ League. Internally there are problems in Jamaica where every year the same two clubs are in the final. The INF is similarly challenged to market the game globally, and in their quest to get it as an Olympic sport they are looking to expand their reach,” Hall said.