Sealy, Rock going places

Two of Barbados’ young, bright netballers Fay Sealy and Shanise Rock are experiencing success even though they have come from schooling backgrounds not noted for the sport.
Sealy, who is a member of the national team playing the position of goal keeper, attended Harrison College which has a proud sports record, but not in netball. 
Goal defender Rock attended Coleridge & Parry which has produced many top sportspersons in other disciplines. 
The 24-year-old Sealy, who holds an upper second class degree in accounting, plays for Guardian General Pride of Villa and Barbados. 
Sealy was introduced to netball when her parents moved to the Cayman Islands when she was three years old.
On returning here and while attending Harrison College, Sealy turned out for house sports where physical education teacher Inez Taylor was impressed with her ability and encouraged her to take up the sport seriously.  
Sealy later joined St Barnabas where coach Margaret Cutting would play a big part in fashioning her development and further love for the sport.
Her selection for the Barbados team to the last Commonwealth Games in India confirmed her ability as a goalkeeper and she developed a relationship with the likes of the Blackman sisters, Nadia and Latonia, that saw Sealy moving to Villa.
Rock had starred as a primary school player, leading St Andrew Primary to the schools’ championship before going on to Coleridge & Parry.
As a primary school student, Rock was introduced to the sport by Sonya Knight, who would later coach the athlete as a member of the Under-21 training squad. 
Rock, 19, who is currently pursuing qualifications in social work at the University of the West Indies, was a member of the Cave Hill Blackbirds team which competed at the Inter-Campus Games in Jamaica.
She credits her love of netball and young children for driving her to pursue qualifications in social work as she wants to work with children. 
“I love children and I am often pleasantly surprised when I go out on the court in St Andrew and I see the number of children who surround me asking me to help them with their game or just to practice taking shots with them,” she said.
Rock relishes goal defence more than goal keeper as she is allowed to roam and play centre court defence rather than being restricted to defending the shooting circle. 
“I currently want to train as hard as possible to help Barbados to perform the best at the Under-21 championship in Scotland and of course my ultimate goal is to reach my maximum academically and in netball,” said Rock.
Sealy admitted that the competition for goalkeeping was very tough and that was why she had widened her options by playing as goal shooter for Villa. 
When questioned about seeing improvement in the game in Barbados, Sealy suggested that the players were the one who could institute improvements.
“What I would love to see is that all of the players work even harder at their game and that they show a commitment and a never say die attitude so the spectators can see teams fighting until the final whistle,” she said.
“I would love for netball to get greater support in sponsorship and I would not want to comment on officiating since you can never predict what level of officiating you would get at the local, regional or international level.”