National Under-16 netball team vice-captain Vanessa Jones. - photo by Robert Bailey

Bright, calm and hard-working. That's the way many of her teammates describe national Under-16 goal attack Vanessa Jones, one of 22 players who graduated from Jamaica's netball nursery programme last Saturday.

Jones, who was presented with a certificate of participation in the programme, was proud of her involvement, saying she has learnt some lessons that will enhance her personal development.

"I have learnt a lot of things from this programme, but one of the things that I remember the most is that hard work is the key to success. It has also taught me how to be disciplined and I will never forget this Under-13 programme," said the soft-spoken Jones.

Looking for more

The 15-year-old was the vice-captain of Jamaica's Under-16 team, which won this year's Jeanne Pierre Caribbean Under-16 Championships on home soil. Already, she is looking for more.

"I want to go very far in netball because I want to play for the senior team one day," said Jones, who sometimes plays the goal shooter position and is currently a member of the Wolmer's Girls Under-19 netball team.

"However, I know that it is going to take a lot of hard work and dedication but I always believe in myself," she continued.

Jones, who started playing netball at the age of eight while attending Dunrobin Prep School, said that she hopes to ply her trade overseas professionally one day.

"I would also love to go overseas and play for an international club," said Jones, an admirer of national senior captain Simone Forbes.

Joy Watson, who has been in charge of the nursery programme for the past 2¹/² years, describes Jones as a well-mannered and very disciplined person.

"She is a very good player and she is also very good academi-cally," said Watson. "She is also a quite accomplished young lady, she is very positive and very sure of herself in her ambitions and what she needs to do and what she wants to do.

"She made the Under-16 team this year and I am sure that she will make it again. She is one of the rising young stars of our junior programme," Watson said.