First of all I must say how proud we are of our son and how we commend him for the humility he has maintained throughout. At the age of 9 years old Jerrel began attending the Family Soccer coaching Academy managed by Vaughn "Bella" Alexander. It is at that academy that the ability we had recognized in Jerrel at a younger age was developed and I want to publicly say thanks to Vaughn Alexander. One Saturday morning not having enough funds to send Jerrel to the academy which was based at Presentation College, Chaguanas, I was busy looking in the house for all the quarters I could gather to send Jerrel off and he touched me on my back and told me that one day he would send me English, as at that time he did not know that the UK currecy was called Pounds. I became very teary at that point. I shared this first because i wanted to shed some light on the fact that from a very young age Jerrel had a dream.
Rgarding his trial at Portsmouth-As the article written states, Jerrel was seen by an agent during the recently concluded CFU tournament. We were invited to England by the club, where in the first week we were exposed to the living arrangements that the club has for foreign players which are at their academy. We stayed with houseparents. Jerrel began training the very next day after we arrived. I was very concerned about how he would cope with the weather but after speaking to him on the first day, he expressed that he was very confortable as he was given appropriate clothing to wear during the session. He continued to train with the under 18 team and was given one try with the under 16's. I attended two of his training sessions where I saw a child that had adjusted really well, meshed with some of the players and able to play his game without any intimidation.He showed alot of concentartion during the drills and was just himself during the practice matches.
After his final training session, I was informed that he would be required to return without parents in January and upon speaking to the U18 coach, he informed me that he was very pleased and that he is four years advance.He said that in the first week they recognized some shyness and fright but in the second week, they saw wahat he got.I took time to ask about what the club had in place where a players' education is concerned and he explained to me that it was top priority.
As parents we want to make sure that every area of our son's life is covered if and when we decide, should he be successful at his next trial. At the end of the day it is not all about money but it is vey important that Jerrel Britto be a holistic individual and a positive statistic to society. We have been instructed by the Lord to train him up in the way he should go, we have tried to that to the best of our ability to do just as we have been instructed. God has the final say in our lives. We are grateful for all the doors that has and will open to Jerrel. We know that he is destined for greatness and once he acknowledges the Lord, stays humble and keeps focus, his dreams will come to pass. As a family we are committed to supporting this young man, we are closely knitted together and him being in another country will not change that. We thank Trinidad and Tobago and all who has wished him good success. I take this time to encourage parents to stand with their chilldren. It does not take a big bank account or living in a mansion for a child to realize his or her dreams. As a family we have had tough,tough times but our faith in the Lord and our love as family and support for each other has kept us together.Blessings to all and have a BLESSED HOLIDAY!
