Trio selected for 2010 Digicel Cup experience

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

Three of Jamaica's young footballers have been granted an opportunity of a lifetime, after being selected to embark on an all-expense-paid one-week trip to view action in the Digicel Caribbean Cup (DCC) in Antigua and Barbuda.

The fortunate youngsters - Kendon Anderson (St George's College), Dujon Williams (Innswood High) and Romony Hilton (Lacovia High) - were chosen from an initial group of 30, which participated in the two-day Digicel Caribbean Cup coaching clinic, conducted at the Barbican playing field.

The clinic, which concluded on Wednesday, comprised teenagers chosen from various schools across the island that are currently participating in the Digicel-sponsored Inter-Secondary Schools Sports Association schoolboy football Manning and daCosta Cup competitions.

National senior men's football team head coach, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore, who spearheaded coaching at the clinic, along with his assistants, Lenworth Hyde Sr and Desmond Smith, were responsible for selecting the three individuals.

"I am very impressed with the boys who participated in this training camp. They were very disciplined, focused and eager to grasp what we had to offer them," a proud Whitmore stated.

"It was a very tough decision in selecting the three players to go to Antigua to watch the Digicel Caribbean Cup, but this in itself is a testimony to the fact that our schoolboy football programme is producing high quality players," he declared.

refining players

The camp, which focused on honing and refining players and effecting a greater appreciation for the sport, gave participants the option to choose which area of football they would like to improve on.

The players were then placed in intense counselling sessions - led by Whitmore and a team of four other coaches - that focused on solid technical foundation skills, such as shooting, controlling and heading, along with other important factors in the sport, such as discipline and respect.

Digicel's head of marketing, Donovan White, said: "Digicel is undoubtedly one of the biggest supporters of sports in Jamaica and the region. We understand and believe in the value that sports can bring to all involved - players, coaches, patrons, everyone.

"The DCC football clinics are important to us because it is another way of ensuring that we are graduating quality players from the schoolboy football league to the community leagues, the national leagues and the international leagues," added White.

"We are also happy that in the interim three young players will get a chance to see an international game in Antigua - an experience that we hope will give them a better appreciation for what they are aspiring to be."

The team, consisting of Whitmore and the three selected players, will leave the island on November 6 to see the games and return on the 17.