Technical director of women's football in T&T, Even Pellerud, is impressed by the commitment and work rate his team, which is currently in camp until the end of the World Cup, is showing.
The girls are preparing for the 2010 U-17 Women's World Cup which takes place in T&T from September 5-25. "We are seeing tactical improvements and a better understanding of the game. We play a lot of friendlies with the senior team and they are very good for us. We also look forward to playing international games soon," Pellerud explained. Pellerud said at the end of the team's preparations at the beginning of September, his side will be ready to play the big nations.
Speaking on his recent experience in South Korea, the Norwegian said, the matches showed that his team needed some more muscle. "We have introduced a lot more physical training, a lot more time in the gym and a lot more weights, in a measured way," he explained. "We found by playing South Korea and some of the other big teams, that we need some more muscles, so we have built more muscle, and the girls look not much bigger but they are actually looking much stronger." With regards to the newer players added to the team such as twins, Mia and Amira Walcott, Pellerud said: "The new players need a few more days to catch up with the level of fitness and competition but they are closing the gap to the home based players. Some of the foreign based players coming in are very good players and the mix is very good, they are bonding very nice and everything is going very smooth."
T&T SQUAD
Linfah Jones, Keri Myers, Camille Borneo, Rehana Omardeen, Tenisha Cobham, Sharlette Alexander, Patrice Vincent, Kadisha Debisette, Khadidra Debisette, Patrice Campbell, Kayla Taylor, Camille Charles, Victoria Swift, Jo-Marie Lewis, Annique Walker, Jasmine Sampson, Annette Mims, Mia Walcott, Amira, Brianna Ryce, liana Hinds, Diarra Simmons, Nkosi Simmons, Courtney Bahardursingh, Chante Helwig, Lauren Smith, Trechelle Gibson Even Pellerud (coach), Janelle James (manager)