The resignation of Under-21 head coach Alwyn Babb is not a major blow to the team’s preparations for the upcoming Netball World Youth Cup Qualifiers, says president of the Barbados Netball Association (BNA), Dr Carmeta Douglin.
Dr Douglin, who has served as president since 2022, said she had full confidence that qualified netball coach Marion Johnson-Hurley and technical coaching director Pamela Hesson would fill the void left by Babb.
The Under-21 team is preparing to compete at the July 6 to 15 Qualifiers in Guadeloupe for a spot at the 2025 World Youth Cup, which is slated to be held in Gibraltar.
“Ms Marion Johnson Hurley is a qualified netball coach and physical education teacher. She was also an international umpire and international umpire trainer. Together with the technical coaching director Ms Pamela Hesson will continue to coach the Under-21 squad,” Dr Douglin told Barbados TODAY in a telephone interview.
In a sudden turn of events on Tuesday, Babb, who had held the position since September 2023, tendered his resignation.
The move comes less than a week after Babb, who is also the coach of Premier League outfit Spooners Hill Firebirds, called his team off the court in protest of what he described as sub-standard officiating by the umpires during their contest against St Barnabas.
Dr Douglin confirmed that Babb had stepped down from his position as head coach.
President of the BNA, Dr Carmeta Douglin. (FP)
“BNA Inc can confirm that we have received a notice of resignation from coach of the Under-21 squad. The management team has been informed and the current coaches and technical coaching director will continue to work with the squad. We take this opportunity to thank Mr Babb for his voluntary service throughout the months of preparation of the Under-21 squad,” Dr Douglin said.
The BNA president said she did not expect his departure to negatively impact the team.
“No, I thank him for his dedication to the squad and the other dedicated qualified coaches will continue to prepare the squad. The technical director has started working with the squad from last year and brings a lot of skills and experience to the preparation of a competitive team,” Dr Douglin maintained.
Speaking to Barbados TODAY, Babb, a former head coach of the national netball team and athletics team, said he took the decision to resign after he saw correspondence that suggested he would have been fired from the post.
“My resignation is what was expected so it shouldn’t surprise people. Since I called off my team they were people on the executive who wanted me to get fired so as it escalated, and I was privileged to see two pieces of correspondence, I wasn’t letting anyone fire me in public for volunteer work, so I resigned,” Babb explained, while saying he believed it would have “caused a division within the Executive” if he had remained.
“I thought about it long and hard because during the course of time I had started to build a good relationship with the players and there were a couple of things we were hoping to achieve at Qualifiers and beyond, so this decision wasn’t taken lightly.”
He revealed that having served netball in different capacities throughout the years, he had also made the tough decision to step away from the sport.
“I’ve been around netball for a long time. I was part of a senior team that finished seventh in the World, and against my better judgment I came back to assist because we keep slipping every year in the rankings and we are almost down to 15th.
“…But as it is, I will just stay away from the sport, because this is not the first time I was at loggerheads with the national association and as a person who wants to contribute to sports in Barbados, I don’t think I should be in a position where I should be constantly in loggerheads with an association, so it is better that I just stay away from coaching and netball altogether,” Babb said.
Objava BUT BNA president says Under-21 squad won’t be disadvantaged by head coach’s resignation se je prvič pojavil na Barbados danes.
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