Jeneice the ‘energiser’

From football, pan, ballet, tennis, she keeps going

There are not enough hours in a day to do all that Jeneice Ward wants to, and playing lawn tennis, football, pan, taking modern dance classes, homework and studies, she assured, are far from exhausting. That’s until the cold breeze blowing through the car window lulls her to sleep as she makes her way home every evening.

From appointment to appointment and occasional late nights on the computer, Jeneice seems to be giving the “Energizer Bunny” some competition. What is the source of all her energy? Certainly not the servings of cereal and milk she has, ritualistically (morning, noon and night)!

What could possibly be responsible for that mean two-handed, backhand shot she slammed across the net during a gruelling one-hour session with her tennis coach? It was fascinating since, an hour before she was tippy-toeing in her candy pink ballet shoes  and matching leotards twisting and twirling to the delight of her instructors at Thora Dumbell Ballet School at the Chinese Association, St Ann’s. “An excellent student,” was how her tutor evaluated her. In the four years, she had made “rapid progress”. An hour before that, she was rushing out the gates of Bishop Anstey High, Port-of-Spain, amongst the throngs of students in order to keep up with her fixed schedule. Her faithful and prompt ride was waiting outside. Behind the wheel sat her father, Joseph.

Wednesday’s routine was unlike Friday’s. This time she had a date with her football coach Peter Pierre, at the Queen’s Park Savannah for 3.30 pm sharp. Trying to keep our appointment, I missed the chance of seeing her nimble footworks and “accurate ball passes” her coach so vividly described. Instead, I got to see the behind the scenes, after-match routine stretching accompanied by sit-ups and push-ups and tired facial expressions that seemed to harmonise with their (her colleagues) words: “uuurrr, aahh, sir..how much more?” Bits of dried grass were strewn all over their hair and clothing.

“She’s got a very good idea of the game,” Pierre commented after her three-week training with him. “Jeneice exhibits good technique and I understand that she plays tennis too which complements her footwork on the field. Ball games go hand in hand.” Pierre is tennis coach for Bishop Anstey girls’ and UWI women’s football teams and one of the coaches at Skeene Hyacinth Football Institute.

Admittedly, the 82lb, 13-year-old amazed them. For the past week she’s been measuring her height daily, which to her disappointment, remains 4 ft 11 1/2 inches. She wants to be able to say she’s taller than her mom, Jai. Just one foot more, she convinces herself. But it was inevitable that Jeneice would be athletic. It was noticeable that she had the “long distance muscles” when, just a year old, ran “a stretch and a curve” while her father was warming up for his long distance meet at the National Stadium.

Joseph ran in the marathons from Freeport to Port-of-Spain. Both Joseph and Jai are tennis players. Her parents assured that there was no need to coerce Jeneice into playing sports. “I love all,” Jeneice said. They try to maintain doing everything as a family unit. “From as early as they (Jeneice and her brother Jerome) could walk we got them baby rackets,” said Joseph. Jerome, 16, of Fatima College, is ranked #3 in the U-18 group. “I also wanted to do ballet because I used to listen to music and dance around,” she said.

At Newtown Girls’ RC Jeneice was also netball captain. She put a hold on swimming lessons because of her fear of the deep. She’s holding on to her “loves” until it’s time to choose one. She said: “Dancing gives me pride and confidence in myself, performing in front of parents. Football gives me mental toughness and tennis builds my physical fitness and strength.” Jeneice plays competitive tennis and is ranked third in U-12 and second in U-14, nationally. Her biggest success, to date, is winning the recent U-14 doubles of the Barclay’s Bank International tournament beating Canada in the finals. She also won the U-14 doubles with her partner Ria Dookeran in the National Junior Tennis Championships and was a finalist in the singles event. Jeneice is one of few being called to the Junior Fed Cup to represent Trinidad in El Salvador in early May. Her participation remains tentative due to insufficient funding.

Jeneice eventually, got around to answering my initial question. “I dreamed of three things I wanted to be — a professional tennis player, a professional footballer and a surgeon.” She explained the latter: “I love the study of organs and I love children.” She’s also contemplating becoming a dentist. She didn’t have to say the ‘L’ word when describing her relationship with her brother. “Normal sibiling rivalry. We argue a lot but we share a lot of secrets that mummy and daddy don’t know about. When we get in trouble we pick up for each other.” Not to mention how much she misses him when he goes abroad to participate in tennis invitationals. Her favourite sports personalities are Venus Williams (tennis) and Mia Hamm (football), favourite book — the Harry Potter series and favourite instrument - the steelpan.