T&T shows promise.
By: Jovan Ravello (Guardian).
Technical director Lincoln Phillips has advocated the standardising of a national coaching programme to take T&T football to the next level. Following T&T’s third place in the 2006 Caribbean Football Union Under-16 Youth Cup which Mexico won on Sunday, Phillips made a few observations.
“What you see is what you get,” Phillips said when asked about the team’s performance. “The players are a product of their environment and they cannot be expected to change by a few sessions with national coaches.”
T&T defeated Jamaica 2-0 for third place at Hasely Crawford Stadium on Sunday.
Phillips, who last year conceived the Goal 2014 development programme, said:
“Our coaching development programmes must be implemented, developed, standardised and our coaches must be exposed to modern coaching methods at all levels of the game, from primary school to senior national.
“Only when that is done, which will take time, we will see marked improvement in the way we play.
“If our children are not exposed to frequent physical activity at an early age they tend to lose a key part of their development.
“My job and that of the team’s technical staff is to identify and diagnose the problems.
“It is now time to sit down and analyse the games on tape, so we can go back and see where the mistakes are and prepare for the future.
“In the 2002 World Cup, Brazil had a couple of questionable performances in the earlier rounds of the tournament, but still won having identified the problems in their game.
“Our own Soca Warriors themselves had questionable performances in the earlier qualifying rounds, but eventualy advanced to the World Cup and performed creditably
“That is the nature of coaching.”
The national Under-16s gave a good account of themselves losing just one match and conceding three goals in six matches.
T&T’s Stephen Knox received the golden boot award for his 10-goal haul, while central midfielder Leston Paul, defenders Sheldon Bateau and Ryan O’Neil also stood out in their respective positions.
T&T received the FIFA Fair Play Award and showed itself to be a disciplined group throughout the tournament.
What was striking about the team, however, was its cohesion, a product of a year of constant contact and this can only be improved if this crop of players remains together.
Next up is the Concacaf round of qualifying as the team sets its sights on the Under-17 World Cup 2007 in South Korea with teams like newly crowned CFU and defending World Under-17 champions Mexico, dethroned champs Canada and the USA standing in its way.
