Away from international football for just over two years, all-time T&T leading goalscorer Stern John is getting ready to re-enter the game from in a different capacity. John will join a list of former national football stars who have entered coaching as he now looks ahead to being the featured head coach of the T&T Football 7s Academy.
The T&T football 7s academy is affiliated to the Miami Soccer 7s Academy which is based in Soccer Town, Pembroke Pines and founded by Trinidadian Sham Mohammed. It will cater for children six to 17 years old as well as adults and will stage training sessions three times per week.
John and current Minister of Sport Brent Sancho were on hand in Miami last October to play in an exhibition game at the launch of the Soccer 7s Academy at which Brazilian Alexandre Soares is the head coach.
Now John will spearhead the T&T Academy which will open its first branch at the Henry St Recreation Ground in Trincity next month. That is the same ground where John grew up playing both football and cricket.
"It's an amazing opportunity for me and it couldn't have come at a better time," John said.
"Obviously I've been out of international football for a while but I've kept in touch with the game and I've always wanted the opportunity to give back, especially in T&T. I'm really excited to be working with the kids. We'll be teaching them the basics of the game but also showing them more about life skills off the field and creating opportunities for them to learn about living healthy lifestyles and adapting to face every day life situations."
"We are working around the clock to see this come off the ground as we want to really make it attractive and worth the while, especially for the youngsters and our ambition to drive football 7s locally,' said the former Birmingham City and Crystal Palace striker.
There will be provision also for underprivileged kids at the academy which will eventually branch out in other areas of the country.
The Football 7s Academy, through its Miami outlet, hosted an eight-team tournament last month for adults which saw the winning team walk away with a US$4,000 first prize. And there are plans to stage similar tournaments in Trinidad with more attractive cash prizes, according to Mohammed, the founder of the academy. Opportunities for football scholarships and international participation in tournaments will also be at stake.
Football 7 is growing and has aroused the interest of major stars of world football. The Brazilian League brings together great idols enshrined in the teams participating in the competition. The same happens in other parts of South America and Europe.
Former Argentina captain Juan Pablo Sorin and ex- Real Madrid and Vasco da Gama defender Dejan Petkovic are just two of the former stars who are now involved in Football 7s.
Additional information on registration and the launch for the T&T Academy will be presented in the coming weeks.
Hart gears up for Panama
T&T senior head coach Stephen Hart will be keeping an eye out on the players appearing in the T&T Pro League as he finalises his squad for the March 27 friendly international against Panama at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Mucurapo.
Hart, who led T&T to the runners-up spot at the 2014 Caribbean Cup Finals, says he will be looking to give some of the home-based players an opportunity to take the field against the Central Americans.
"It is important to play as regularly now as it allows. And the opportunity to play a team like Panama is good for us. They are one of the bigger up and coming teams in Concacaf for me. Panama have invested in the entire football structure in Panama. They have been playing consistently and they are the nation to watch," he said.
On the home-based players who have been knocking on the door of the national team, Hart said: "They have players who have been there on the national team and some players I will like to have a look at. It's no secret that I have been wanting a local camp for some time now and an international game and I think this is an ideal situation to look at as many local based players as possible, give them an opportunity to prove themselves and to see what kind of player pool I can build as we move into the next Fifa dates in June and then the Gold Cup."
Hart said there was some potential coming out of the Under-20 team in Jamaica last month.
"We are going through a difficult period in local football. That team is a special generation but they did not have enough experience which meant they went into the tournament to in a way gain experience. It just goes to show how talented they were because almost every game went down to the wire with them. The little bit of game management and how to shut down a game was missing. But there was some good performances and I will definitely keep an eye on them," he said.
T&T to take part in U-15Concacaf championship
T&T will be among 34 nations to send national U-15 Boys teams to the second Concacaf U-15 Boys Championship in Cayman Islands this coming August.
Concacaf has added a coaching education programme to be held prior to the tournament . All coaches will have the opportunity to learn new techniques, with the aim of implementing these with their under-15 teams during the tournament. Among the teams taking part in the tournament include United States, Mexico, Canada, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Haiti and Cuba among others.
"Concacaf is proud of the response from its member associations in their commitment towards development," said Concacaf president Jeffrey Webb.
"Two years ago, the inaugural tournament provided Concacaf a competitive environment where we observed and thoroughly enjoyed the quality on display from our junior players. The U-15 tournament now begins a transition, from a start-up event into a critical step for our development."
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Jones ready to featurein changed up Chicago
National senior defender Joevin Jones will have his work cut out but he is prepared to force his way into the Chicago Fire starting team for the upcoming American MLS season.
Jones is among several new players signed by the club which also has new broadcast deal and fresh sod at Toyota Park.
Fire head coach Frank Yallop said he is looking forward to see how Jones and the new signings fit in.
"We want to be an attacking, an exciting team to watch," Yallop said, "So our fans are excited when they come to the stadium, teams are looking at us going, 'OK, we've got to really look at what we're doing against them.' That was the most important thing for me in the off-season, to make sure we're a balanced team. I think we've done that with the signings."
Yallop doesn't seem concerned about the defense. There are many new faces there also, like Adailton, Jones and Eric Gehrig.
"You can only get a certain amount of players," Yallop said. "You can't have 15 defenders. But I feel that we've picked up some quality players in that front, and I still think that in this league you've got to outscore the opponent. I really do.
Jones simply wants to work hard and earn his play time.
"It's hard work but I'm prepared to do that and settle in and do my best for the team."
Shaun Fuentes is the director of communications for the TTFA–shaunfuentes@yahoo.com