Robert Bailey, Freelance Writer

Christina Solmon (front right), and other members of the national under-16 team and the coach, Joan Cargill (front), celebrating on the team bus after their arrival from the Caribbean U-16 championships in Trinidad and Tobago last December. Solmon, who won the Most Valuable Player award, is the youngest member of the national senior squad that will play England in the upcoming three-Test series. - Ian Allen/Staff Photographer

Calm, cool and easy. That's the way many of her teammates describe 16-year-old goal attack Christina Solmon, who was named as the youngest player in Jamaica's 12-member netball squad for next week's three-Test series against England.

The first match is set for September 17, the second on the 19th and the third on the 20th - all at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

The Jamaicans are using the series as part of their preparation for this year's World Netball Championships (WNC), which will be held in New Zealand from November 10-17.

This will be the final series for Jamaica before the start of the championships.

Training harder

"I hear that the England team is a very difficult team to beat and knowing that we are ranked above them, they will be coming all out to beat us," said Solmon, who attended Tarrant High School.

Solmon made her first senior team appearance with the Sunshine Girlz on their ill-fated tour Down Under, where they suffered 0-2 defeats to host teams Australia and New Zealand in their last competitive series in July.

"My personal development has been going good. I have been training harder than I did before and coming from the Australia and New Zealand tour I was a bit down, so I have been training harder and the mental preparation is also better now," said the soft-spoken Solmon with a smile.

The six-foot tall player said the the experience was great for her because it was good to see the teams playing at the highest level.

"These teams are the best in the world and they are numbers one and two, respectively, so I kind of know what they have to offer whenever we are going to playing against them," she explained.

'Normal' player

Solmon was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) at last year's Caribbean Under-16 Championships in Trinidad and Tobago. She also guided Molynes United 'A' to the 'A' League title and qualification to next season's Super League competition.

"I am not seen as a young player by my teammates anymore, I am seen as a regular player now in the team because they treat me like a normal player. So, being the youngster is not as much of a challenge as I thought it would have been," says Solmon.

She will have players with a wealth of experience around her on the tour including Kasey Evering, Elaine Davis, Nichala Gibson an Byfield, all of whom played in the 2003 WNC in Kingston.

But perhaps the person she will relate to the most is goal attack Simone Forbes, who also played at the World Champs.

"I look up to Simone (Forbes) because she is a goal attack and I am also a goal attack and she is also very quick and I would want to be like her some day."

Youngest team member

Apart from Forbes, she also admires captain Elaine Davis, who she describes as a good person to talk to as she is very skilful, and is a strong individual.

If selected for the World Championships, the teenage Solmon will join Janet Johnson as the youngest player to represent the country at the tournament.

Johnson first represented the country at the 1975 World Championships, which ironically, was also held in New Zealand.

"We will be one of the higher ranked teams at the tournament, so everybody expects us to do well and I am looking forward to going out there and giving everything I've got to contribute to victory," she stated.