Gilbert: CFU U14 challenge series schedule gruelling
Published:Wednesday | August 25, 2021 | 12:05 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
XAVIER GILBERT, coach of Jamaica’s girls football team participating in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Under-14 Challenge Series in the Dominican Republic from August 22-29, said the day-to-day scheduling of games is gruelling on players.
The Jamaican team faced Grenada on the Sunday, the hosts on Monday and Puerto Rico yesterday, before resting today and playing their final game against Haiti tomorrow.
He pointed out that the majority of the young Reggae Girlz are playing official football for the first time, plus they are playing for the first time in over two years.
“So physically, they are not there and to be playing games back-to-back, three days straight, it’s difficult and challenging,” argued Gilbert, who has coached at all the women’s national youth team levels.
“If you are going to have matches day by day, at least give each team 22 players so they can have a decent amount of rotation. To use 18 players in a pandemic is rough. You have to ensure there are adequate players in case of anything, there are still numbers that teams can manage,” he commented.
One rule of the competition states that every player must play at least 90 minutes, which ensures some amount of rotation. However, Gilbert wants more.
“We prefer (to have) more players so in case of anything we have enough backup, so players can get enough rest to recover. Also, if you play two games back-to-back, you should have a rest day because playing three days straight with 18 players, at this age group with players who have been out of competition so long, it is gruelling,” he said.
“We are thankful we have a physio (Nicole Reid) and a doctor (Leonia Jackson-Vincent), who understand and know what we are doing and continue to help them recover,” added Gilbert. “We won’t have them 100 per cent for all the games, but we must get them as close as possible, and that’s what we work on.”
Jamaica defeated Grenada 6-0 in their opening game, but lost their second match 2-0 to the home team, and Gilbert said it was always going to be difficult to top the series.
“Dom Rep and Haiti are two good teams and it is evident they have been playing and training together for some time.
“It will be difficult to beat them but we will try to play smart and see what happens. The important thing is the girls get the exposure, to help them develop. Getting a chance to play to improve their game and to play at this level is a great thing,” he said.
Before today’s third match day, Haiti (one game), Dominica Republic and Jamaica (two games) led the standings with three points apiece. The Dominican Republic lost their opening game 2-1 to Puerto Rico.