Tivoli’s Codlin: Return of youth league important for continued mentorship

For Tivoli Gardens Football Club (FC) Under-17 coach, Jevonnie Codlin, the return of the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Valeo Youth Development League is an opportunity to continue mentorship to young players at risk, and for their dreams of a national youth call-up to be realised.

Codlin divides his team as the Tivoli Gardens High School coach for the Under-16, as well as the youth coach for the club, and he saw his Under-17 players compete in their first game of the KSAFA youth league last Saturday.

His connection and relationship with his team are important, he says, as he is committed to giving them the support that he did not have in his childhood, having lost both his parents at age 10.

“It’s not something that I think that I can’t manage (being a father figure). I didn’t have the best of upbringing as a young child. At that age, for me, I needed support. I try to be that person for them that I know that they would need for that extra motivation, that extra guidance. I just try to make myself available off the field for that,” Codlin told The Gleaner.

It is that continued mentorship that he sees as vital, not just for their overall development but their continued progression as football players. The return of youth football tournaments is not only a relief for his team but another opportunity to get noticed for a youth national team call-up.

“I emphasised that a lot. I said to them that ‘not all of you guys here are going to be professional football players. But those who are exceptional and who are very disciplined and doing the right things in school, you are going to go places’,” Codlin said.

One of the players he hopes will have his chance on a youth national team in the future is the Tivoli Gardens FC’s Under-17 captain and midfielder Ryan Oneil Francis. With Portugal and Manchester United midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo as a player he wants to emulate, he says that playing football again after the hiatus is a welcomed joy and a platform for more.

“It was difficult because some players haven’t played in two years. But it is a joy to play in the competition, to express ourselves and display our skills,’ Francis said. “Playing in the competition is very important because it is my dream to play for Jamaica.”