The Royhil Seals claimed the silver medal after going down to Loyola Athletic Club in the final match 16-5 in the Powerade Water Polo Tournament in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Sunday evening.
The result also revealed the stark superiority of the North American team (Loyola Athletic Club) over their Caribbean counterparts, having won the three encounters between the teams this tournament.
Though facing a match-up among players in the same age bracket, the Andrew Francis-coached Seals played in a three-team contest (University Athletic Club, Royhil Seals and Loyola Athletic Club) with an aim of exposing its young, inexperienced players to international competition.
Coach Francis said he was pleased with the display of his charges, all of whom showed a marked improvement from the start to the end of the tournament.
In their opening match against Loyola, the Seals received a baptism of fire, 15-6. Still, they remained undaunted by the result, and rebounded perfectly in their second match by defeating the University Athletic Club 6-4. The win boosted their confidence ahead of their second meeting with Loyola on Saturday, proving to be more lethal in attack and sturdy in defence.
The T&T team, with an overall improved performance, held the Puerto Ricans to a 10-10 stalemate, only to lose out in the end on a penalty shoot out. Still, they advanced to the final as the second team to emerge from the group, as the Loyolans kept their unbeaten record in check by prevailing over the Athletic Club in their second match Saturday 8-6.
Sunday’s final saw the trio of Keemya Williams, Korrie Cario and Mya Dos Santos book their names among the Royhil Seales scoresheet, which was eventually overshadowed by their losing result 16-5.
Francis said he was pleased with how the girls handled themselves in an unfamiliar environment. “ The girls definitely improved from the start of the tournament to the end. It was a very physical tournament, you know, in that the aggressive nature of those Spanish countries is something that we’re not very accustomed to. But I think the girls handled it and came out with the best results,” Francis explained.
He noted, “ I think it was the best result that we could have gotten. I mean, because at that age, you know, it’s not only about trying to get on the platform, but getting them to get that competitive experience and, you know, learning what it takes to compete internationally and stuff like that.”
Francis, who functions as national coach, explained further that international tournaments such as these will also help in improving the quality of players and make them achoeve scholarships. “ We need to get not only our girls, but all my clubs’ players, and all the age groups, the under-14s, under-16s, the boys and the girls, you know, and even the under-18s, under-19s players. They need that competitive experience outside because we don’t have enough of it here. And, of course, the quality is at a higher standard abroad.”
“ So we always need to try and see how we can get our players to get out and compete, because that’s why we’re always looking for sponsored people, some sort of a sponsor to help our athletes to get out there and get the exposure. It’s from that our national teams will benefit.”
Francis continued, “ Even our kids that want to go to college and go to universities abroad, you know, it’ll stand them in good stead when they get to that level and stuff like that. So, right now, we’re preparing our teams to go to a tournament in Florida in February. We’re now starting to look into that process,” he concluded.
