U-17 star revels in elevated status
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS Assistant Sport editor
ALVAS ‘Bigga’ Powell has a larger-than-life attitude these days when he walks through his community — head held high and a pep in his step.
No wonder. After all, he’s the new hometown hero after his exploits as a key member of Jamaica’s World Cup-bound Under-17 squad.
Powell, a 16-year-old with a hint of great things to come, has been catapulted to stardom in his heartland of Danvers Pen — a small, rustic farming community of 17,000 inhabitants nestled between Seaforth and Trinityville in St Thomas.
His newfound fame has come as little surprise to those who have watched his growth over the years — always standing head and shoulders above his peers on the field of play.
No doubt, his groundation in football started with the parish’s grassroots Under-13 and Under-15 parish leagues and he played for the latter as a precocious nine-year-old.
This early baptism into organised football no doubt placed the Paul Bogle High student on a launching pad for his consequent elevation to the daCosta Cup and the national team.
Today, he is revelling in it all.
“They (community folk) don’t call me ‘Bigga’ anymore, they call me ‘National’ and they’re still encouraging me and everybody is just checking to see if I’m okay… I’m just proud to walk through my community,” said the hardnosed, skilful defender.
Six weeks in Brazil finetuning his skills for the CONCACAF qualifying playoffs “was a great experience”, but pales in comparison to the emotional roller-coaster ride that came with playing in the Montego Bay tournament, and more importantly, World Cup qualification.
“I felt great because it was the first that I was playing for a national team and that was good for me, my family, friends and even the (St Thomas) FA,” said Powell, who has since returned to Brazil after being elevated to the Under-20 outfit which is preparing for their World Cup qualifying tournament in Guatemala.
The close 2-1 win over Honduras in the quarterfinals of the CONCACAF eliminations secured the second appearance for Jamaica at an age-group World Cup, and Powell was ecstatic.
“I cried because it felt so good… first my mom (Angella Lindsay) called me and she said, ‘Son, I can’t wait to see you and I’m very proud of you’, and my friend Sean Robinson called me and said, ‘Yuh nuh stop big up St Thomas’,” said the past student of Prospect Primary, located in Danvers Pen.
Apart from his uncompromising attitude in defence and his obvious ballhandling prowess, Powell demonstrated enough throughout the two-week tournament to suggest that he could be lethal as an outright attacking player.
That was underlined in a profound way when he drifted from the heart of the defence to single-handedly decimate Guatemala’s retreating players with a piercing run down the left side.
He then passed the ball to striker Jason Wright, who clumsily, but effectively, finished off the move for a 1-0 win that guaranteed Jamaica a place in the quarter-finals.
“The forwards were not doing it so I was confident in myself that I can dribble on that flank. I did it before and I realised that that side of the field was weak, so I went back again. I got a goal out of that dribble,” said Powell, brimful of confidence.
There are those who believe the towering youngster would be more effective as a midfielder, but they may be interested to know it’s a position he played until his daCosta Cup coach had other ideas.
“I started out as a striker and then I went to left midfield and then right midfield… I can play anywhere. In the D’Cup, it was noticed that there weren’t any strong players in the defence, so my coach Mr (Winston) Downie said, ‘Alvas, I know you can play around there’, so I just go around there and now I’m a defender… but I’m like that; anything I do I’m going do my best every time,” said the player whose five sisters give him “one hundred per cent” support.
In their group matches at the CONCACAF event which qualified four teams to Mexico, Powell believes the 2-2 draw against Trinidad and Tobago was the “toughest game”.
“The USA game was tough also, but not as tough as the one against Trinidad… the Trinidad game was war,” argued Powell.
Jamaica’s fourth-place finish in the 12-team championship was a disappointment for Powell.
“I believe that we lost focus as we should have at least finished the tournament in third place, and not getting that is very disappointing for me… The coach was also letdown by the guys,” said the youngster who was ejected in the 0-2 semi-final defeat against the USA.
The Americans went on to win the competition by beating North American neighbours Canada 3-0 in extra time.
Jamaica were beaten 1-0 by surprise package Panama in the third-place play-off.
Powell singled out teammate and captain Omar Holness for praise, claiming the Wolmer’s Boys’ midfielder is an outstanding leader.
“He’s very good, and it doesn’t matter how the pressure is on, he encourages us,” he told the Sunday Observer as he drove to the senior Boyz training camp last week.
As Powell and his teammates look to the Under-17 FIFA Youth World Cup, which kicks off on June 18 and ends on July 10 in Mexico, he agrees there is still work to be done in getting ready for the tournament.
“Yes, there needs to be more work… the goalkeepers and the midfielders more than anyone else need to work on,” he argued.
He thinks the defence, of which he is a part, has not performed badly even as the team conceded six goals to five scored.
“About three of the goals that we have conceded did not come from situations where the defence line was broken down; the opponents kicked the ball from way outside the area and we can’t stop shots from being kicked to goal,” Powell explained.
Powell says he’s grateful for the role St Thomas football has played in his development, and sought to point out that wherever the game takes him, he will owe much of it to his roots.
Meanwhile, St Thomas FA head, Wayne Thompson, said the success of Powell and another St Thomas member of the Under-17 team, Javia Roberts, is a boost to the parish’s football and testimony to its youth programme.
“Interestingly, both players represented St Thomas in the National Under-15 Challenge Cup in 2008/2009… and we’re happy that both players made the transition to the national programme,” said a delighted Thompson.
Another product of the parish and Under-17 squad member, Johvan Christopher, was not selected for the sixweek Brazilian camp for disciplinary reasons.
Players of note who have preceded the trio as beneficiaries of the parish’s youth programme are Jermaine Hue, Desmond Breakenridge Jnr, Newton Sterling and national representatives Demar Phillips and goalkeeper Dwayne Miller.
