Anxious wait for youngsters

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

The youngsters who participated in the Digicel Caribbean Cup Coaching Clinic, which concluded yesterday, now anxiously wait to hear if they are among the three selected to travel to Antigua.

"The two days were very successful, the guys were hungry and they wanted to learn," said head coach of the clinic, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore.

"We have to select three, which we will do and pass the names on to the Digicel group and they will do what they have to do," the national senior football coach added.

There were 24 youngsters present at yesterday's clinic, three less than the previous day as some of the players had Manning and daCosta Cup matches. The boys were allowed to demonstrate what they have learnt in a game setting yesterday.

"What we did was ask them some of their weaknesses and then try to work on them this (yesterday) morning," Whitmore explained. "Most of them mentioned finishing and how they defend. Those were some of the things we taught them this (yesterday) morning and then we tried to put it in a game-related situation.

"We haven't had any problem with any player in terms of discipline. The camp has been going well, they have been enjoying themselves," he added.

Whitmore and his assistants, Lenworth Hyde Sr and Desmond Smith, now have the task of selecting three of the youngsters to travel to Antigua on November 9 to view the Digicel Caribbean Cup qualifying tournament for one week.

Quality players

Whitmore pointed out that the focus will not only be on the youngsters' talent.

"It wasn't a really hard task (to select the three players). These players showed leadership and they are good quality players," Whitmore stated before pointing out one problem.

"Most of these youngsters don't have a passport, but it is something that we discussed with Digicel and they will deal with that."

Digicel's sports sponsorship manager, Paula Pinnock-MacLeod, was quite pleased with the clinic and now looks forward to the selection of the three youngsters.

Coaches feedback

"Based on the feedback from the coaches, it was a successful venture," MacLeod cited. "They are confident that they have seen exceptional talent and for us right now it is just a matter of the selection process to find out who the coaches have selected to go to Antigua. I am sure the boys will be excited and we are looking forward to taking them on that journey."

Fifteen-year-old Romario Shermon of Clarendon College felt very privileged to have been selected to participate in the clinic.

" I feel very happy to have been part of this trial (clinic) because there are a lot of players in Clarendon, so there must be a reason why I got chosen," Shermon said.

"I learned a lot of skills and I got to get more confidence in my football game and I gained a lot more knowledge," said 16-year-old Hakeem Sadler of Kingston College. "It was just great to be coached by the bigger heads like 'Tappa' Whitmore and 'Lenny' Hyde."