T&T Football Association Youth football community clinic caravan entered Paramin on Saturday for the Concacaf grassroots kids festival and filled the morning of football fun for kids between the ages of 6-12, bringing an end to the two-day Concacaf grassroots coaching course for local participants at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.
The festival was also part of the collaboration with OneworldFutbol which saw several nearly indestructible footballs provided by Chevrolet distributed in Paramin. TTFA technical director Anton Corneal and his local colleagues conducted a coaching clinic similar to the one held in Blanchisseuse the previous weekend.
"It was an excellent day to end of the three-day grassroots course," Corneal said as he was accompanied by TTFA officials and representatives of programme partner Lifestyle Motors with their vehicles on display. TSTT, Coca Cola and BG T&T are also partnering the TTFA in this initiative.
"I can't recall the last time Paramin might have experienced something like this and it was pleasure for us to come into the community and pass on some knowledge and training to the kids in the area. You can see there is a real appetite for the game here and it's giving us an opportunity to reach out to them. I am quite sure the kids here will remember this for a long time and hopefully they will take it further by continuing to develop themselves. We at the TTFA will continue to make efforts to ensure this goes on for a period of time where football on a whole can benefit and we can help those in the communities like these."
T&T-born coach gets coaching job in US
T&T-born Clay Glasgow has landed a coaching job with Dakota Wesleyan University (DWU).
Glasgow, a former top player in the early days of the Mount Marty College (MMC) men's football programme, will take up the head coach position at the university. He was a first-team all-Great Plains Athletic Conference player at Mount Marty. Prior to playing at MMC, he played at Brewton Parker College in Mount Vernon, Georgia. He also played for the Sioux Falls Spitfire Premier Developmental team from 2004-06.
Glasgow has spent the last six seasons as an assistant coach for the Augustana College women's football team, as well as the varsity girls' football coach at Sioux Falls Roosevelt High School. He helped with recruiting and game analysis, as well as the organisation of indoor tournaments and summer camps at Augustana.
"Clay's soccer resume speaks for itself," said DWU Athletic Director Curt Hart. "He was a part of two very successful teams at both the college and high school level in Sioux Falls, and he also has coaching experience at the club level. That coaching experience gives him connections around the state necessary for bringing the best footballers to continue their careers at DWU and, combined with his passion for the game, made him the ideal candidate for the job."
Glasgow's appointed comes just as T&T women's football seems to be on the rise with the recent performance of the Women's Under-20 team at the Concacaf Final World Cup qualifying tournament in the Cayman Islands. Several T&T women players have been making inroads into the US Collegiate system in recent years and the senior women's team is getting ready to press for place in the next Women's World Cup in Canada.
John named in Ireland's All Star world eleven
Former T&T defender Avery John has been named in an Irish League international All Star team says Backpagefootball.com, a popular football website that covers the game in Ireland.
Author Gerry Ferrel wrote: "It is certainly subjective and probably biased but I hope it makes for interesting reading. It contains three World Cup winners, one beaten world cup finalist, a European player of the year, an international World cup captain and a former team-mate of Pel�.
"The first XI features players from seven different nations across Europe, Africa, North and Central America in a slightly unorthodox 3-4-3 formation.
"John John played with merit for Bohemians (twice), Shelbourne and Longford Town in the League of Ireland. He spawned his own chant while at Bohs, the highly original "Avery, John, John, John" sung to the tune of "Feeling Hot Hot Hot" before moving to the MLS in 2004."
The other prominent players on the All Star team included England 1966 World Cup winning goalkeeper Gordon Banks, George Best who played for Cork Celtic in 1975/76, Bobby Charlton, who played for Waterford in 1976, and another England World Cup winner Geoff Hurst.
Concacaf instructor gives pointers to local coaches
Concacaf grassroots instructor Lenny Lake completed two days of lectures and practical training to twenty local coaches at the Concacaf/TTFA grassroots coaching course at the Ato Boldon Stadium last week. The main purpose of the exercise was to educate local coaches on how to prepare kids between the ages of 6-12 as the T&T Football Association embarks on a campaign to develop youngsters in its community programme.
Lake touched on several topics but emphasised the need for specific attention on what appeared to be matters that are often taken for granted such as using size four balls as oppose to size five for younger kids ranging for 6 to 12. He said this was important to avoid injury the youngsters as the size and weight of the size 5 ball could be a health risk.
"Never play the role of a doctor. Always seek medical attention whenever there appears to be something serious," Lake said, adding that coaches should at least try to have basic first aid training.
"Make sure the kids are having fun while learning the game the right away. Always motivate them. Never tell a kid that what he or she is doing is wrong. Instead, show them the right way and have them practice it but never say that they are dong it wrong as that can discourage them."
Shaun Fuentes is the director of communications for the TTFA. shaunfuentes@yahoo.com