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| Born | c. 1968 (age 57–58) (Note 1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.70 m (5 ft 7 in) [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Connie Francis is a former Jamaica netball international and Jamaica national netball team head coach. As a player, she was a member of the Jamaica teams that were bronze medallists at the 1991 and 2003 World Netball Championships and 1993 World Games. Francis captained Jamaica at the 1995 and 1999 World Netball Championships. As head coach, Francis guided Jamaica to bronze medals at the 2007 World Netball Championships and 2023 Netball World Cup and to the silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The Gleaner described her as "the most successful coach of the national senior team." In November 2024, ahead of the 2025 Netball Super League season, Birmingham Panthers appointed Francis as their Director of Netball.
During her playing career, Francis played club netball for Waulgrovians. [2] [3]
Between 1987 and 2003, Francis played for Jamaica at five World Netball Championships. [4] [5] She was a member of the Jamaica teams that were bronze medallists at the 1991 [6] and 2003 World Netball Championships. [7] She also won a bronze medal with Jamaica at the 1993 World Games. [8] Francis captained Jamaica, including at the 1995 and 1999 World Netball Championships. [9] [10] [11] She also represented Jamaica at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. [1] Ahead of the 2022 Taini Jamison Trophy Series against New Zealand, complications with passports and visas resulted in Francis, then aged 54 and serving as head coach, been named in the squad. Five Jamaica players named in the original squad were unable to travel. Francis eventually had to include herself, new mother Romelda Aiken-George and the retired Carla Borrego in their squad to make up the mandatory ten players required for a recognised international match. [12] [13]
Between 2007 and 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023, Francis served as head coach of Jamaica. The Gleaner described her as "the most successful coach of the national senior team." [4] [14] In between these two spells, she also coached Jamaica at the 2016 Fast5 Netball World Series. [15] [16] [17] The highlight of her first spell in charge was guiding Jamaica to the bronze medal at the 2007 World Netball Championships. [14] [18] During her second spell in charge, she guided Jamaica to a silver medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games [19] [20] [21] and a bronze medal at the 2023 Netball World Cup. [22] [23] [24] [25]
| Tournaments | Place | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 World Netball Championships [9] [18] [14] | ||
| 2008 Netball Americas Championship [26] | 1st | |
| 2009 World Netball Series [18] [27] | 2nd | |
| 2010 Taini Jamison Trophy Series [28] | 2nd | |
| 2010 Commonwealth Games [29] | 4th | |
| 2010 World Netball Series [30] [31] | 3rd | |
| 2014 Commonwealth Games [32] [15] | 12th | |
| 2016 Fast5 Netball World Series [15] [16] [17] | 5th | |
| 2020 Netball Nations Cup [33] [34] [35] | 2nd | |
| 2021 England Jamaica netball series [36] [37] | 2nd | |
| 2022 Commonwealth Games [19] [20] [21] | ||
| 2022 Taini Jamison Trophy Series [12] [13] | 2nd | |
| 2023 England Jamaica netball series [38] | 2nd | |
| 2023 Netball World Cup qualification – Americas [39] [40] [41] | 1st | |
| 2023 Netball World Cup [22] [23] [24] [25] | ||
Between 2012 and 2015, Francis served as head coach of Saint Lucia, helping them qualify for the 2014 Commonwealth Games. This was their debut appearance in the tournament. [15] [32] [42]
Between 2017 and 2019, Francis served as head coach of Manchester Spurs in the Berger Elite League. During this time, she guided Spurs to two finals and one league title. In 2018, they finished as runner-up to Kingston Hummingbirds. In 2019, Spurs finished as champions for the first time after beating defending champions, Kingston Hummingbirds, 71–65 in extra-time in the deciding game of the best of three series. [43] [44] [45] [46] [47]
Between 2016 and 2023, Francis served as head netball coach of Mico University College. During this time she guided Mico to several intercollegiate netball titles. [5] [48] [49] [50]
In November 2024, ahead of the 2025 Netball Super League season, Birmingham Panthers appointed Francis as their Director of Netball. [51] [52] [53]