Kick-start boys shine in T&T
SIX proud Jamaican boys returned to the island last Monday after participating in the six-day Digicel Kickstart Academy at the Haseley Crawford Stadium in the Trinidadian capital Port of Spain from November 1-6.
Steffan Logan and Dominic James of Jamaica College; Chevaun Crooks of Tarrant High; Kadeen Williams of Tivoli Gardens; Shemar Dillon of Holy Trinity and Kevon Deacon of Waterford were the participants.
Four were chosen by coach John Barnes after participating in the Jamaican leg of the Digicel Kickstart Clinic, which was held at the Barbican Football Field in Kingston in mid-October. Two others were selected after their names went into a draw for being standouts in the ‘hot shot’ shoot-out competition.
The Academy, which catered to 37 boys from eight countries across the Caribbean, was conducted by Sunderland Academy coaches Carlton Fairweather and Kevin Ball, as well as Jamaica-born former England international Barnes.
“It was a good learning experience for the boys. They learnt things that they might not have been exposed to in terms of what international coaches are looking for,” team chaperone Ryan Channer, who is a Physical Education teacher and coach of the Under-16 football team at Waterford High, told the Sunday Observer.
“They got an opportunity to get a feel for the international game since they were playing with other persons who didn’t speak the same language… and they still had to work together as a team regardless of the language barrier…,” Channer added.
Digicel’s sports sponsorship manager Paula Pinnock-Macleod said the reports coming out of Trinidad and Tobago had been positive.
“The consensus was that it went very well. As always the Jamaican boys tend to shine. We were very hopeful of the clinic. We think it was the right direction that we took having the coaches come to them and have other boys from the territory interact with them,” Pinnock-Macleod said.
She added that the Jamaican players also stood out in two post-clinic games that were played and said the instructors from Sunderland were impressed with what they saw.
“He was very impressed in terms of the tactical advice they were given. No (advice) was given at the sideline when the players were on the field. We tend to use the sideline coaching.”
Logan and James were impressive enough to have attracted the attention of two scouts from prep schools in the United States — the Middlesex School in Massachusetts and Loomis Chassee in Connecticut.
Channer said they seemed likely to get scholarships to attend the North-Eastern US schools.
“Surely, because the coaches were very impressed, especially with their academic performance. Also they were articulate and when they were spoken to they responded very well,” he said.
Pinnock Macleod concurred: “The scouts and the coaches made reference to the fact that their schoolwork was very much on the ball. It reinforces what we’ve been saying, that education is key. There is a step in-between schoolboy football and becoming the next Reggae Boy,” she added.
Digicel took a different approach to this year’s academy having the coaches travel to the Caribbean which meant they were able to see many more boys than the eight or so which had been sent to Sunderland for clinics there in previous years and Pinnock-Macleod was already anticipating next year’s staging.
“We were excited what the possibility will be then. We’re looking forward to see what we put together for next year to see what we put forward to make the clinic even better for next year,” she said.