T&T 2006 World Cup team player Carlos Edwards is back home for a few days and spent some time viewing the national team in training at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain on Tuesday evening.
Edwards has been sidelined for ten months after reputing ligaments and tearing his hamstring last year. He has begun light training and has another four months before taking the field again.
The former Defence Force man, who has played in the Premiership with Sunderland, had some words of encouragement for the new faces in the T&T team for tomorrow's friendly international against Panama at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva.
Edwards remembers playing in a World Cup qualifier for T&T against Panama at the Queen's Park Oval in 2000. T&T won the match 6-0 with Dwight Yorke scoring a hat-trick. But times have changed and Panama have since emerged as one of the top teams in Concacaf, reaching two Gold Cup Finals and narrowly missing out on qualifying for the 2014 World Cup.
"Panama are different not but I remember that World Cup qualifier for me as though it were yesterday. I was much younger at the time but I was so excited and I knew this was the start of a long career for me. It's the same for these new guys. They have to grab the opportunity coach Hart has given them and launch their international careers with a bang. It's natural to be nervous but they are at home and they are with their friends and teammates on the field of play. They must come together and put out the best. That's all it takes at the end of the day," said Edwards who has played 88 times for T&T.
Crown Trace FC seesbenefits fromConcacaf course
Crown Trace FC coach Nicholas Griffith described last weekends Concacaf "D" License course hosted by the T&T Football Association (TTFA) as a beneficial exercise for the participants who took part on the four-day activity at the Hasely Crawford Stadium.
Griffith is the founder of Crown Trace which won the Fifa "Power of football" award last year and the club has progressed consistently over the past year, competing and topping several competitions at the youth level.
"It was hectic but the course was very informative and very beneficial to us. It really taught us more about coaching at the grassroots level. But this doesn't only bring benefits at the community level but also later on for the national level because when you coach kids with the right techniques at the youth level it will help them develop better for later down the road," Griffith said.
The standout for Griffith was being made to understand who the focus should be on in coaching at the youth level.
Among the topics addressed at the course were the role of the coach educator: Principles of Coaching; Principles of the Game; Age Appropriate training; Session training; Physical training; Small sided games; Goalkeeping; Health and Safety and Community Club development.
Hyland weighs options
Belgium-based midfielder Khaleem Hyland is back home with the national senior team preparing for tomorrow's international friendly against Panama at the Hasely Crawford Stadium. But while he's already thinking about the Concacaf Gold Cup in July, Hyland has to make some decisions regarding his club career as Racing Genk could soon be a club of the past for him.
Hyland has not found favour with Genk manager Alex McLeish since he took over the top job last year. McLeish was also coach of Russell Latapy at Hibernian and Glasgow Rangers.
"Things are a bit cloudy with my team at the moment. But I still have a year at Genk and with the transfer window coming up I'll see what are the possible options and hopefully things will be better in the future," Hyland said.
Hyland has made 75 appearances for Genk since joining the club in 2011. Prior to that he played 59 games for Zulte Waregem dating back to 2009. The 25-year-old has played in the European Champions League with Genk. Earlier this year he was on trial at English club Cardiff City.
But while he's waiting out time at Genk, the former San Juan Jabloteh player from Carenage is hopeful of a positive year for this country.
"We have a lot in store for us this year with the Gold Cup and the World Cup qualifiers. We are building as a team and it's good to see new faces around also as it helps to widen our pool. The game against Panama will be good test for us and hopefully we can continue to improve heading into the Gold Cup," he said.
Kick off time tomorrow is 7pm in Couva
England to contest Caribbean U-15s with T&T
England's national Under-15 boys team will be contesting the Concacaf U-15 Championship alongside T&T and several other countries from the region from August 11-23 in the Cayman Islands and Jamaica
This was confirmed a few days ago by Concacaf president Jeffrey Webb.
Teams from the Caribbean and Central and North America will compete in Grand Cayman, Cayman Brac and Jamaica during the group stage.
"Our focus has always been on development and increasing the international exposure for our young players," said Webb. "Competition this year will be fierce, and there will certainly be stellar performances to watch as England participates with the best of Concacaf's talents."
Greg Dyke, chairman of England's Football Association said: "On behalf of the FA, we are delighted to accept this invitation.
"An essential part of development football is broadening players' experience–both on and off the pitch–and giving them the chance to regularly test themselves against different styles and systems
Concacaf teams scheduled to participate are: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Haiti, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Saint-Martin, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, T&T, US Virgin Islands, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama Canada, Mexico and the United States.
�2 Shaun Fuentes is the director of communications for the T&T Football Association. � shaunfuentes@yahoo.com