T&T under-21 men’s hockey coach Glen ‘Fido’ Francis says he is pleased so far with the preparation of his charges for the Junior Pan American Championship in Asuncion, Paraguay, from August 9 to 23.
Francis was speaking on Friday, following the under-21 men’s 3-4 loss to senior men’s All Star 3-4 in a warm-up encounter at the National Hockey Centre in Tacarigua.
The All-Star team which featured former national player and current England men’s coaching staff member Kwandwane Browne was led by a hat-trick from Tariq Marcano, while national assistant coach and former senior team captain Akim Toussaint added the other, with Nicholas Whiteman scoring twice, and Justin Day, the other for the under-21s.
Speaking after the practice match, Francis, a former national goalkeeper and senior team coach said, the training is going excellent so far and the guys are at least 80 per cent up to their fitness level, which is pretty good at this time.
Francis added, “At present we just have a few players with some minor knocks, nothing too serious in terms of injuries as well.”
Just under a month from now, at the National Hockey Centre, located in the Olympic Park in Luque, the T&T junior men’s team, which qualified as winners of the Pan American Junior Challenge in Barbados via a win over the host country in the final back in March, will compete against Canada, Chile, and Mexico in Group B, while the host country, Brazil, Argentina, and the USA are in Group A.
Looking ahead, Francis noted his team have covered most of their bases technically and tactically, along with doing a lot of work with a psychologist.
“So, in terms of our match preparations, that aspect is going pretty well with the players as well.
Francis, a former teammate of Brown at the national level, was also full of praise for the England-based player who plies his trade as player/coach of Holcombe in the England Men’s Hockey League Premier Division.
“Having Kwan (Browne) in for the camp for the second time in three weeks was also another excellent experience for the players, with him being a hockey idol here at home and internationally, to pass on his vast knowledge and experiences of the game as a player as well as a coach, which was also beneficial to me and my coaching staff,’ explained Francis.
“The young guys were really excited to have him in the camp, and we were all blown away by some of the information he was able to pass on during his time with us, as he was able to help the players in each area of the pitch, and overall it was an excellent idea by the T&T Hockey Board to bring him home for the camp for the second time in three weeks.
With a focus towards the tournament, Francis said he was not going to say his team was among the favourites for the title, as their programme was now in its second year as compared to the top teams, which are mostly in the fifth year of the programmes, but they will surely be going all out to put up a fight in each match and take it one match at a time.
At the end of the two round-robin series in Paraguay, the top two teams in each group will advance to the crossover semifinals followed by the final, from which the winner will qualify directly for the 2027 Pan American Games.
Prior to the Junior Pan American Games, the senior men’s team is also set to participate at the Senior Pan American Cup in Uruguay, from July 24 to 3 August 2025, where they will face Canada, Mexico, and Chile in Group B, while Argentina, Brazil, the USA, and Uruguay are in Group A.
Among the women, T&T faces Chile, Mexico and the USA in Group B, with Uruguay, Canada, Argentina and Paraguay in Group A.
The teams will compete in two round-robin groups. At the end of the two round-robin series, the top two teams will advance to the crossover semi-finals followed by the final, where the winners will qualify for the 2026 Men’s FIH Hockey World Cup in the Netherlands and Belgium.
