Elijah Manners, the 2007 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) Most Valuable Player, is eyeing a sports scholarship in the United States later this year. In a recent interview, the 19-year-old midfielder, who captained San Juan Secondary Comprehensive to the 2007 Big 5 crown, made the revelation.
Manners, who will be writing his A-Levels in May and June, is studying Management of Business, Sociology, Caribbean Studies and Economics with the intention of pursuing a degree in Business Administration.
But the soft-spoken Manners made it clear that after this season his SSFL career will be over.
“This is my last year. I’ll give the younger players a chance (to shine),” he said.
Manners has been the captain of San Juan during their most successful period in the SSFL. They were runners-up in the 2005 Big 5 final but were successful in both the 2006 Intercol and 2007 Big 5 competitions.
“They say hard work does pay off, and I always say to my (teammates) ‘work hard’,” he said. “And when you work hard, you’ll get results.
“Over the past years we just keep on getting better and better,” he added.
Concerning the 2007 MVP award, Manners commented: “At first, I wasn’t feeling confident that I would have been the Most Valuable Player but (looking back at) my performance, I felt (it) was real good. I felt I got what I deserve.”
During the earlier part of 2007, Manners played a handful of matches with CL Financial San Juan Jabloteh in the Pro League. And he made it clear that the experience assisted his growth as a footballer.
“Playing with experienced players like Aurtis Whitley and Cyd Gray (who took) me under their arms and helped me to be a better player,” he said. “I think that helped me a lot.”
16