Hard-hit by the absence of several senior players who have refused to join the set-up and coupled with the late return of several overseas players, T&T defender Victoria Swift is embracing the challenge of leading a largely inexperienced national women’s football team when they tackle Mexico in the Concacaf Women's Gold Cup Qualifying Tournament on Tuesday (September 26).
Looking ahead to the game, which will be played in the high altitude of Mexico, an optimistic Swift believes that playing in a team dominated by younger, inexperienced players, may actually work in their favour.
She said, "This group obviously has a lot of younger players, and I think it is an opportunity for those players to showcase what they can do and also an opportunity for the senior players available, to pull those players along, and actually try and mesh the group together to get the best possible performance ever."
Swift, who represents Club Leon Femenil in the Mexican Women's Football League, is among the few professional players who have chosen to wear the red, white and black of the Women Warriors, following a mass exodus of established veterans from the set-up.
But far from being daunted or intimidated, Swift is welcoming the magnitude of her responsibility ahead. After a training session on Monday at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port-of-Spain, Swift said: "I feel excited and ready to be back in the team again. I think this is a journey that the players look forward to and it's an opportunity for us to go out there and show what we have to offer.”
She acknowledged: "Mentally, it's just about giving your best. It's going to be tough, no doubt about that, we're going where the altitude is a lot higher, so we also have to take that into consideration. So it's really about preparing as best as we can, both from a mental aspect and a physical aspect as well."
Swift is prepared to use her knowledge and experience of playing professionally in Mexico to not only provide support for the younger ones, but also for the senior players as they try to perform in the high altitude, and believes that the future may be bright for the team despite the overall youth of the team.
She explained: "I think the biggest thing for us will be trying to keep the group together. We have a whole lot of younger players, so if we can keep the group together [now] until it's time to play in the World Cup, I think we will be in a better position to actually compete and qualify for a World Cup."
Apart from Swift, the handful of experienced players joining the team will be Maria Frances-Serrant, Asha James, Kedie Johnson, as well as the Forbes sisters – Karyn (captain) and Kamika (goalkeeper).
