The senior women's national basketball program held its second round of tryouts over the holiday weekend, at the Remnant Gymnasium. The object of the sessions was to cut the squad down from 23 to 15 players, and that was achieved. The final number will be 12 players, so there will be three remaining cuts before a final selection is determined.
This past weekend, they were put through drills to test offensive and defensive skills, and conditioning.
Coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin is huge on the idea of having a physically fit team that can get up and down the floor, and this played a big part in the decision-making of who stays and goes. Initially, there was expected to be a morning and afternoon session in the second round of tryouts, but coach McPhee-McCuin and her assistants felt that they had seen enough in order to make the cut after the first session.
"I think we have a mixture of veteran leadership, as well as youth. I think that we have everything implemented. We have conditioning as well as the weight-training sessions with Macfit 360, so I think that by training every day and getting in shape, they will be ready for training camp on the 23rd when all of the girls come down," said McPhee-McCuin. "Conditioning is what I look forward to seeing most in the girls. It is a big thing for us and I think once the girls are in better shape, they will be able to do more. As far as the basketball stuff is concerned, they will be in the gym with the coaches and will have opportunities to work out with them to fine tune their skills, so that when we come back we can put it all together, but if they are not in shape and not strong enough, it would be an issue for us."
As mentioned, training camp will start on June 23, in New Providence.
A lack of size on the inside has almost always been the downfall of Bahamian national squads in the past, but coach McPhee-McCuin feels that this group will not fall under that category.
"Our front court is 6'4, 6'3 and 6'2. We even have six-foot guards so we are a pretty big team," she said. "It's not size that I'm concerned about because as far as size in the post is concerned, we have that this year. It's the point guard play that we really have to work on and solidify."
They have already began their sessions with the owner of Macfit 30 and former national team player Jimmy Mackey, who was recently praised for being a great personal trainer by professional basketball player Jaraun 'Keno' Burrows. Burrows noted that most would look outside of the country to seek a personal trainer that can train a professional athlete, but he said that Mackey helped him to take his game to another level after a few training sessions. Mackey will work with the women until coach McPhee-McCuin returns at the end of the month.

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