TTFF grooming Under 15s for 2007.

By: Shaun Fuentes.
30-Oct-2004 - The Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation technical department spearheaded by Technical Director Lincoln Phillips and Director of Youth development Anton Corneal have commenced screening sessions for players in the Under 15 and Under 13 age groups for national team selection in 2006 and beyond.
While the focus currently is with the senior team’s “Journey to Germany” for the 2006 World Cup, Phillips stressed on Friday that it was equally important that the country also place focus on the development of upcoming players.
“The 2006 World Cup in Germany is not the last World Cup to be played,” Phillips told TTFF Media. “While we are aiming to get there and we are anticipating a most exciting year with the final round coming up, we also need to place the emphasis on developing our younger players and preparing our Under 20 and Under 15 teams.”
The current National Under 20 and Under 17 teams are preparing for Caribbean Football Union leg world qualifiers against Cuba next month and Corneal, who is also the National Under 20 coach, has commenced screening for younger players who will be eligible for representing T&T at the Under 20 and under 17 levels by 2007. That year will see the Under 20 World Cup hosted by Canada while the Under 17 championship will also be played then in an unnamed country.
“These are the development teams for 2007. We are in the process of discovering and selecting players who by the ages of 12 are talented and have a good eye for the game. We can then build on their skill and appreciation for the game while also improving on their fitness and speed,” Phillips explained.
The first screening session at the Hasely Crawford Stadium last week conducted by Corneal attracted some 150 youngsters and regional teams will be set up for future matches and other scouting opportunities.
Phillips mentioned that it was obvious that more work needs to be done at the lower age group levels to correct some of the technical faults among many of the upcoming players.
“We have to catch them at an early age. We have to increase their speed drastically if we are to fulfill our true potential on the pitch. We definitely play too slow at times. The reason for us not able to play the ball quickly and fluently, based on my observations at sessions throughout the country so far this year, is because we spend too much time on static skills. We therefore need to be more dynamic and more fluent.We have to be able to possess the ball really well…. get that sophisticated first touch and develop proper individual and group defending. Hence the reason for us to work at it from an early age. Anton has done a wonderful job so far, taking the initiative when the monies are not as sufficient as we would like and really push forward the work with the various zones,” Phillip said.
Meantime, the women are not to be left out as National Women’s team coach Jamal Shabazz will conduct screening sessions this Sunday from 9am at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine for players born on or after January 1, 1987. This is being done towards selection for the Women’s Under 19 team.