Vincent unhappy with U15 tournament format
Published:Tuesday | August 2, 2022 | 12:09 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
JAMAICA’S U15 girls’ coach Tashawna Vincent believes that for multiple reasons organisers of the Concacaf U15 girls development championship, now taking place at the Hillsborough County Tournament Sportsplex in Tampa, Florida, should consider giving teams a break between each game.
The young Reggae Girlz suffered a 5-0 defeat to 2014 winners Canada in their opening League A, Group A game on Monday, and will face two-time defending champions, United States, today at 8 a.m.
At the inaugural tournament, teams were given a day’s rest between each group-stage game.
However, for the 2016 tournament, teams were required to play their first two group matches on consecutive days and Vincent argued that, apart from aiding the ladies in their recovery, a day’s break gives coaches an opportunity to work on changes.
“Having a day to make adjustments would definitely help. That would be preferable for multiple reasons. Apart from the recovery of players, we saw some things we want to adjust.
“But we will have a team meeting later (yesterday) and try to show them some things on the blackboard. That is the best we can do because we do not have a training session going into our second game.
“And we will be facing the defending champions. So it is going to be a tough one,” she said.
Meanwhile, Vincent insists she is proud of her players despite the heavy defeat to Canada. She pointed out that the young Reggae Girlz held their own for nearly half an hour and went into the half-time break, just down by two.
She contends that the contrast in the teams’ preparations was the major factor.
“It wasn’t a bad effort. In the first half, for the first 20-odd minutes we held out and showed we weren’t afraid of them.
“But they were way more prepared and fatigue started to kick in and the more the game went on, based on the preparations, the girls started to tire and lost concentration and everything followed,” she said.
Getting girlz remotivated
Nevertheless, the main focus was getting the girlz remotivated and mentally ready for the US, who slammed Puerto Rico 12-0 in their opening Group A game.
“It is going to be very difficult but first and foremost, we have to find a way to motivate the players. As a former player, I know how deflated one can feel after a loss. We just have to be positive, find a way to motivate the girls and get them ready to go.
“We, the coaches, cannot show frustration. We just have to be patient with them and take it positively.
“The only thing now is to get the girls mentally ready to go out and fight. We have to get them into a mental space and see how we can tap into their mental aspects. And I am asking the Jamaican public to be patient,” she added.