For the first time since the programme's inception, female footballers had an opportunity to showcase their skills at the Digicel Kickstart Clinic in view of visiting Chelsea FC coaches.
As they took to the field at St Mary's College Ground, Serpentine Road, Port-of-spain, on Wednesday, the girls, by all accounts, gave senior international football development officer at Chelsea, David Monk, international technical support officer, Andrew Ottley and international football development head coach Kobina Elliot, a good impression.
Monk was in high priase for what he had encountered on his second visit to T&T for the Digicel Kickstart Clinic. "It was fantastic working with the young ladies," Monk said. "We found them to be technically very sound; they had good athletic ability and obviously have had excellent training."
The girls engaged in a technical warm-up, where they practiced various techniques and challenges including left and right-foot passing and volleying. The coaches were particularly impressed by the skills of the goalkeepers, as well as players who selected areas of the net to target to shoot at.
One young footballer, Matika Salandy from Real Dimension Football Club enjoyed the one-day training event.
"It was fun playing with such a large number of girls who were enthusiastic about improving their game, and eager to learn," she said.
Both the boys and girls left an impression with Monk, who was "very impressed with the level of training." He described this country as a powerhouse of football talent. He was of the view that "within the region, T&T could put itself as number one at the moment."
The coaches will now move on to Bermuda for the next stop of their Caribbean tour.
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