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‘Phenomenal’ Denbigh netballer Williams likened to Fowler-Nembhard
September 24, 2024
At the age of 16, Denbigh High School's Leneice Williams is slowly carving out a name for herself in local netball.
Williams, who plays the goal shooter position, raised eyebrows at the recent staging of the Island Vibes Tournament and caught the attention of Simone Forbes, vice-president of Netball Jamaica.
"Denbigh has a goal shooter (Leneice Williams) who I think is phenomenal just for her age. She's 16, she got injured in the Youth Summer Invitational and returned to play in the Island Vibes Tournament," Forbes shared.
"She has the potential and I can see her becoming a Sunshine Girl. I've already spoken to her coach (Winston Nevers), she's a player who was on the under-21 squad but wasn't selected so I'm keen to see if she can be part of the World Youth Team that is going to Gibraltar next year," Forbes stated.
Williams recently copped the best shooter award and player of the final for the Youth Summer Invitational as she led Denbigh High to the title with a 37-31 victory over the national under-16 team.
Forbes shared that while Williams wasn't at her usual best she still managed to stand out among her peers.
"She still wasn't 100 per cent, but you couldn't tell just because of her skill and talent," Forbes observed.
The vastly experienced Nevers, who coaches Williams at both school (Denbigh) and club level (Jamalco), believes her fearless approach to netball is allowing her to be one of the country's most promising players at the moment.
"She's growing from strength to strength. She has the experience now and is only short of the finishing touch. Every time I watch Williams play she reminds me of Jhaniele Fowler-Nembhard and Georgina Hibbert," he noted, comparing her to the world's best shooter, Fowler-Nembhard.
"She's just strong, fearless and hasn't even reach 17 as yet," Nevers remarked.
The veteran coach shared that reward for hard work is being shown currently with Williams' skill and humble personality, noting that she's one for the future.
"On Saturday I reminded her that we're now seeing the results of the hard work that was put in. She's humble and is a player that I believe will reach places," Nevers added.
