Under 17s in Costa Rica for training camp.

[ZANDOLIE]

That's why they don't have the talent pool..soccer is not the main sport so the best athletes play other sports.

its just a matter of time...the MLS is fast growing. good news for them, bad news for the rest of concacaf! i don't know much about development in mexico, but if i would suggest our coaches and administrators take a long hard hard look at the battle between the organized and coach driven U.S. system and the freestyle skills picked up by mexican youngsters in pickup games at an early age. the solution for us lies i think closer to the U.S. model.

you have some good points but the old coach versus new coach has both disadvantages and advantages.  for example let's say you are referrign to bertille st clair as an old school coach, the advantages may be the ones you described in your post but the disdvanatges would be he did not attemtpt to learn anything new, he had some hangups (i.e. men with dreads, men going to prestige school,)etc.  My point is old or new does not make a difference, they should be both learning from each other to improve our football.  Gally, Bertille and other old school guys should be working with the new blood such as Cooper, Leonson, etc.

Right you are. We will benefit from up and coming, adaptable coaches AND administrators. like our players, we must demand our coaches should have a thirst for knowledge, winning, and a willingness to advance themselves by plying their trade outside of T&T. They can't become world beaters coaching Joe Public and SSFL their whole loves. However the constant promotion and recycling of failures and enablers has to be discarded in favour of a system in place where coaches and executives that show distinction can be rewarded in kind.

[coache]

 Also if these new coaches want to consult with the old guys, I am sure they would welcome it. Also their training methods is no secret..their are many players who have been coached by these men and I am not only referring to those coaches you have mentioned ..there are many old coaches in Trinidad who have not made a name for themselves like SinClaire but the emphasis was the same.
 Sean Cooper had Carl Osborne..many south players had Doc Henderson, Adrian Chandler, Peter Mitchell, Jan Steadman, Rawl Aimey, Edgar Vidale, Dick Furlonge, Steve Khan, Danny, Isa Mohammed..players in the north had Jap Brown, Roderick Warner, Jean  Lillywhite, Gally Cummings, Sharkey, La Forest, and many others which I can't recall at this time and none of these guys would be having discussions about systems ..the player would always be the focal point.

[coache]

I see that vb was surprised that Fatima has four players on this team, actually Fatima has one of the better youth programs in the Colleges league .
In 2009 Fatima won the National U14 title. St Benedict's lost to them on penalties in the final. The both schools had a lot of talent.  Yafeu Rougier from Benedict's is the cousin of Anthony Rougier. Mateon Watson was the central midfielder for Benedict's was taken over to Naparima. There was a large talent pool at Benedict's but because of the lack of a development program, mentorship and guidance at least four top talented players fell into the shadows and will never make it past the recreational level.
Coaches don't really seek out talent at an early age; only the ones who make a name for themselves early on get looked at.
Coaches need to go and watch U14 games, primary school games don't wait for InterCol. Another thing I have noticed is that some very good players don't go to the National screenings. I know of two exceptional players who have not gone to these screenings. The players would not be considered for selection if they don't participate in the screenings.

[Rastaman]

I see that vb was surprised that Fatima has four players on this team, actually Fatima has one of the better youth programs in the Colleges league .
In 2009 Fatima won the National U14 title. St Benedict's lost to them on penalties in the final. The both schools had a lot of talent.  Yafeu Rougier from Benedict's is the cousin of Anthony Rougier. Mateon Watson was the central midfielder for Benedict's was taken over to Naparima. There was a large talent pool at Benedict's but because of the lack of a development program, mentorship and guidance at least four top talented players fell into the shadows and will never make it past the recreational level.
Coaches don't really seek out talent at an early age; only the ones who make a name for themselves early on get looked at.
Coaches need to go and watch U14 games, primary school games don't wait for InterCol. Another thing I have noticed is that some very good players don't go to the National screenings. I know of two exceptional players who have not gone to these screenings. The players would not be considered for selection if they don't participate in the screenings.

The same thing happened in Tobago. Rundell Winchester who is now at Central F.C. did not turn up when we had a program for the Tobago U20s that played the national U20s. He played against them for his then club Stokley Vale and they refused to consider him because he did not attend the organised sessions. In addition there was another player that did not attend. He played against U17 coach Cooper for Scarborough Sec in Intercol and was immediately drafted into the U20 team, albeit too late because they were eliminated before he had a chance to join the team.

[Trini _2026]

I see that vb was surprised that Fatima has four players on this team, actually Fatima has one of the better youth programs in the Colleges league .
In 2009 Fatima won the National U14 title. St Benedict's lost to them on penalties in the final. The both schools had a lot of talent.  Yafeu Rougier from Benedict's is the cousin of Anthony Rougier. Mateon Watson was the central midfielder for Benedict's was taken over to Naparima. There was a large talent pool at Benedict's but because of the lack of a development program, mentorship and guidance at least four top talented players fell into the shadows and will never make it past the recreational level.
Coaches don't really seek out talent at an early age; only the ones who make a name for themselves early on get looked at.
Coaches need to go and watch U14 games, primary school games don't wait for InterCol. Another thing I have noticed is that some very good players don't go to the National screenings. I know of two exceptional players who have not gone to these screenings. The players would not be considered for selection if they don't participate in the screenings.

The same thing happened in Tobago. Rundell Winchester who is now at Central F.C. did not turn up when we had a program for the Tobago U20s that played the national U20s. He played against them for his then club Stokley Vale and they refused to consider him because he did not attend the organised sessions. In addition there was another player that did not attend. He played against U17 coach Cooper for Scarborough Sec in Intercol and was immediately drafted into the U20 team, albeit too late because they were eliminated before he had a chance to join the team.

who was coaching the team at that time

[Rastaman]

I see that vb was surprised that Fatima has four players on this team, actually Fatima has one of the better youth programs in the Colleges league .
In 2009 Fatima won the National U14 title. St Benedict's lost to them on penalties in the final. The both schools had a lot of talent.  Yafeu Rougier from Benedict's is the cousin of Anthony Rougier. Mateon Watson was the central midfielder for Benedict's was taken over to Naparima. There was a large talent pool at Benedict's but because of the lack of a development program, mentorship and guidance at least four top talented players fell into the shadows and will never make it past the recreational level.
Coaches don't really seek out talent at an early age; only the ones who make a name for themselves early on get looked at.
Coaches need to go and watch U14 games, primary school games don't wait for InterCol. Another thing I have noticed is that some very good players don't go to the National screenings. I know of two exceptional players who have not gone to these screenings. The players would not be considered for selection if they don't participate in the screenings.

The same thing happened in Tobago. Rundell Winchester who is now at Central F.C. did not turn up when we had a program for the Tobago U20s that played the national U20s. He played against them for his then club Stokley Vale and they refused to consider him because he did not attend the organised sessions. In addition there was another player that did not attend. He played against U17 coach Cooper for Scarborough Sec in Intercol and was immediately drafted into the U20 team, albeit too late because they were eliminated before he had a chance to join the team.

who was coaching the team at that time

Which team National or Tobago

[Trini _2026]

I see that vb was surprised that Fatima has four players on this team, actually Fatima has one of the better youth programs in the Colleges league .
In 2009 Fatima won the National U14 title. St Benedict's lost to them on penalties in the final. The both schools had a lot of talent.  Yafeu Rougier from Benedict's is the cousin of Anthony Rougier. Mateon Watson was the central midfielder for Benedict's was taken over to Naparima. There was a large talent pool at Benedict's but because of the lack of a development program, mentorship and guidance at least four top talented players fell into the shadows and will never make it past the recreational level.
Coaches don't really seek out talent at an early age; only the ones who make a name for themselves early on get looked at.
Coaches need to go and watch U14 games, primary school games don't wait for InterCol. Another thing I have noticed is that some very good players don't go to the National screenings. I know of two exceptional players who have not gone to these screenings. The players would not be considered for selection if they don't participate in the screenings.

The same thing happened in Tobago. Rundell Winchester who is now at Central F.C. did not turn up when we had a program for the Tobago U20s that played the national U20s. He played against them for his then club Stokley Vale and they refused to consider him because he did not attend the organised sessions. In addition there was another player that did not attend. He played against U17 coach Cooper for Scarborough Sec in Intercol and was immediately drafted into the U20 team, albeit too late because they were eliminated before he had a chance to join the team.

who was coaching the team at that time

Which team National or Tobago

national team .... how long ago was that

[Rastaman]

I see that vb was surprised that Fatima has four players on this team, actually Fatima has one of the better youth programs in the Colleges league .
In 2009 Fatima won the National U14 title. St Benedict's lost to them on penalties in the final. The both schools had a lot of talent.  Yafeu Rougier from Benedict's is the cousin of Anthony Rougier. Mateon Watson was the central midfielder for Benedict's was taken over to Naparima. There was a large talent pool at Benedict's but because of the lack of a development program, mentorship and guidance at least four top talented players fell into the shadows and will never make it past the recreational level.
Coaches don't really seek out talent at an early age; only the ones who make a name for themselves early on get looked at.
Coaches need to go and watch U14 games, primary school games don't wait for InterCol. Another thing I have noticed is that some very good players don't go to the National screenings. I know of two exceptional players who have not gone to these screenings. The players would not be considered for selection if they don't participate in the screenings.

The same thing happened in Tobago. Rundell Winchester who is now at Central F.C. did not turn up when we had a program for the Tobago U20s that played the national U20s. He played against them for his then club Stokley Vale and they refused to consider him because he did not attend the organised sessions. In addition there was another player that did not attend. He played against U17 coach Cooper for Scarborough Sec in Intercol and was immediately drafted into the U20 team, albeit too late because they were eliminated before he had a chance to join the team.

who was coaching the team at that time

Which team National or Tobago

national team .... how long ago was that

That was just the other day... last year may to be exact. McCormie was coaching National and StClair was coaching Tobago

[Observer]

That's why they don't have the talent pool..soccer is not the main sport so the best athletes play other sports.

This theory floats around a lot, but I don't necessarily buy it. The problem is more a matter of athletes aspire
towards the sports that may provide a livelyhood and stay in that sport longer. So they dedicate more time towards these sports. However, in the US as an example, two of the sports require certain physical qualities (first and foremost). The US population alone can cater to all those sports. It is a fact that soccer is one of the largest participation sports in the US, so how can a sport like Ice Hockey, claim the best athletes. Numbers alone will indicate other wise.  Neatherlands as an example are succeessful in several sports, Olympic & World Champions in men's Field hockey, Volleyball (just an example) and their population is less than 12 million. For me it is a development issue and the fact that you are less likely to earn a decent living for soccer.

[Observer]

Coache is right the older coaches were far more concerned with developing the individual. Coaches like Doyle Griffith, Ken Headly, Big Chief Sloan Seals, Osborne, Lynch etc. took pride in this model. The problem today is that most coaches seek out courses that are largely on the development of Team structures. Individual development through technical repetition is almost frowned upon

[ZANDOLIE]

That's why they don't have the talent pool..soccer is not the main sport so the best athletes play other sports.

This theory floats around a lot, but I don't necessarily buy it. The problem is more a matter of athletes aspire
towards the sports that may provide a livelyhood and stay in that sport longer. So they dedicate more time towards these sports. However, in the US as an example, two of the sports require certain physical qualities (first and foremost). The US population alone can cater to all those sports. It is a fact that soccer is one of the largest participation sports in the US, so how can a sport like Ice Hockey, claim the best athletes. Numbers alone will indicate other wise.  Neatherlands as an example are succeessful in several sports, Olympic & World Champions in men's Field hockey, Volleyball (just an example) and their population is less than 12 million. For me it is a development issue and the fact that you are less likely to earn a decent living for soccer.

There is another issue as well. IMO in North America soccer is more likely to be thought of as a recreational sport for children to participate in. Sports like hockey and football are closer to the rugged, rough and tumble heart of North America. Outside of the money there is a lot more prestige involved in being a hockey player or football player. In Canada children with ability tend to get streamlined into hockey and the competitive grind starts much earlier in hockey than soccer.

[ZANDOLIE]

one thing we like in trini is to have slim, graceful, pretty footballers. very few national coaches aside from coach cooper have been so vocal about a team's physical shortcomings, other than the usual 'fitness' and VO2max talk. they seem afraid to force players to do anything more than run and do calisthenics. there should be expectations/standards for strength gains and explosiveness as well as aerobic targets. youths should be coming to national camp already meeting certain physical parameters and trainers/coaches should be assessing them with specific future strength, mass and weight gain targets in mind.

to their credit, the ttff tried to introduce standardized coaching methods across the board. but how much is actually being done with youth products on the ground in our top professional clubs when they are consistently unable to compete with even central american minnows?

our athlete pool is relatively small, but we have some serious advantages over countries like the U.S. and Canada. good news is the Ministry of Sport has conducted feasibility studies for building at least 4 regional development academies, but we won't see the full impact of these until after 2018

[asylumseeker]

How it is Cooper's squads seem to be so supported?

[ANC2]

Also if these new coaches want to consult with the old guys, I am sure they would welcome it. Also their training methods is no secret..their are many players who have been coached by these men and I am not only referring to those coaches you have mentioned ..there are many old coaches in Trinidad who have not made a name for themselves like SinClaire but the emphasis was the same.
 Sean Cooper had Carl Osborne..many south players had Doc Henderson, Adrian Chandler, Peter Mitchell, Jan Steadman, Rawl Aimey, Edgar Vidale, Dick Furlonge, Steve Khan, Danny, Isa Mohammed..players in the north had Jap Brown, Roderick Warner, Jean  Lillywhite, Gally Cummings, Sharkey, La Forest, and many others which I can't recall at this time and none of these guys would be having discussions about systems ..the player would always be the focal point.

When Hart was TD in Canada he said in the media that far too many coaches worry about teams and not individuals. He had proposed  coaching courses that deal strictly with Children and Youth development, where coaches can become certified specialist in this area. I could not find the article, but I believe he said that France and Holland already
offer such specialist courses. People in Canada can probably tell me if this was ever achieved.