Hailing from the western coastal village of Canaries, Shernelle Francis did not hold back on developing her athleticism with her ‘passion for sports and that genuine love for football’.
From age, 11 Shernelle got into the game of football and with such a burning desire for the sport, it was not unusual to see her attempting to juggle a ball.
Even at that tender age, and with football considered the ‘sport for boys’, Shernelle was not deterred and continued with the zeal to play the game that she loved.
Though she got a thrill from displaying her skills in the sport, nonetheless, Francis wanted to take her game to another level.
In pursuit of higher levels in the game, Shernelle has channelled her interests into the field of coaching. With support and encouragement from her father and the SLFA’s technical director, Cyril Podd, she has fully embraced her role and vows to make the most of it.
“To prepare… for that coaching journey, I undertook several coaching courses including the National Coaching Certificate offered by the SLFA” said Francis.
Along that journey, she has gotten the opportunity to undertake coaching stints with the Canaries male and female youth teams, as well as Young Strikers FC and Square Boyz FC.
Presently, Shernelle coaches the Canaries Under-21 female team, which features several players on the senior national women’s team as well as the national Under 20 team. She is also part of a grassroots programme in her community.
Shernelle admits that her greatest satisfaction comes from “seeing the number of young girls that I have coached making it on to the national teams.”