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The good news is that Trinidad and Tobago finally got on the score sheet in the fourth and final outing of their CONCACAF Under-15 Championship adventure today. The bad news is coach Russell Latapy’s team conceded their highest tally for the competition, losing to Jamaica by a humiliating 8-1 margin in the seventh/eighth place play-off at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago finished the group phase of the competition with three successive defeats in which neither Caribbean nation managed a single goal. But the young “Reggae Boyz” broke their duck in spectacular fashion against their southern rivals.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
After failing to score in 210 minutes of play against Mexico, Honduras and Panama, Jamaica scored eight times against the young Soca Warriors in their 70-minute contest.
Being spanked by Central and North American opposition was bad enough but a mauling by a Caribbean rival is another thing altogether.
Captain Dwayne Atkinson and Kellijah Morgan both notched first-half doubles for the Boyz while Kenroy Campbell also got on the scorecard as Jamaica led 5-1 at the interval. St Ann’s Rangers winger and St James Secondary schoolboy Jean-Heim Mc Fee scored the lone item for the Warriors.
And Jamaica substitute Rajay Wright rubbed their rivals’ noses in it with a second-half hattrick to cap off the drubbing.
Latapy had changed goalkeepers for the match as Matura Secondary schoolboy and North East Stars player Kernel La Fon got his chance ahead of St Anthony’s College and Trendsetter Hawks custodian Jahiem Wickham. But the coach reinserted Wickham for the second half.
(Courtesy Allan V Crane/CA Images/Wired868)
Undeterred, Jamaica scored their final three goals against Trinidad and Tobago’s first-choice goalie.
The harrowing result comes just 24 hours after Latapy, one of Trinidad and Tobago’s most celebrated players, said his Under-15 troops were “not far off” the likes of Costa Rica and the United States “in terms of potential and talent.”
Latapy, a former Trinidad and Tobago National Senior Team head coach, returned to a coaching role for the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) last August, just weeks before the National Under-17 Team participated in a Caribbean tournament on home soil.
The young Warriors failed to even get out of their group.
If time was against Latapy in 2016, he had roughly six months and a warm-up tournament in the Cayman Islands to prepare his players for the CONCACAF Under-15 Championship, which included 40 teams from the Confederation.
(Courtesy Chevaughn Christopher/Wired868)
Trinidad and Tobago were seeded in division one among the region’s top eight football nations.
In the end, the young Warriors ended as comfortably the worst team of the lot, with one goal scored and 21 conceded in just 280 minutes of football.
Trinidad and Tobago U-15 Team: 18.Kernel La Fon (GK) (1.Jahiem Wickham GK 56); 16.Marc Wharfe, 5.Cephas St Rose (15.Adriel George 58), 13.Zachary Welch, 3.Darian Bradshaw (captain), 6.Jabari Lee (10.Josiah Edwards 35), 9.Ezekiel Kesar, 8.Josiah Allen (4.Antonio Chee Ting 49), 11.Jaiye Sheppard, 7.Jean-Heim Mc Fee, 17.Justin Araujo-Wilson.
Unused substitutes: 12.Rhowen Stewart-Williams, 14.Aamal Julien.
Unavailable: 2.Randy Antoine.
Coach: Russell Latapy
(Courtesy Sean Morrison/Wired868)
(Trinidad and Tobago National Under-15 Squad)
Goalkeepers: 1.Jahiem Wickham (St Anthony’s College/Trendsetter Hawks), 18.Kernel La Fon (Matura Secondary/North East Stars);
Defenders: 4.Antonio Chee Ting (Trinity College East/San Juan Jabloteh), 3.Darian Bradshaw (Queen’s Royal College/St Ann’s Rangers), 12.Rhowen Stewart-Williams (St Benedict’s College/Club Sando), 2.Randy Antoine (Arima North Secondary/San Juan Jabloteh), 5.Cephas St Rose (Independiente Sabaneta FC—Colombia), 16.Marc Wharfe (Maple Leaf International School/Skhy FC);
Midfielders: 9.Ezekiel Kesar (Naparima College/Point Fortin Civic), 13.Zachary Welch (Fatima College), 6.Jabari Lee (Pleasantville East/W Connection), 15.Adriel George (Bishops High School Tobago/St Clair Coaching School);
Attacking midfielders: 11.Jaiye Sheppard (Scarborough Secondary/Phoenix FC), 10.Josiah Edwards (Brazil Secondary/San Juan Jabloteh), 7.Jean-Heim Mc Fee (St James Secondary/St Ann’s Rangers), 8.Josiah Allen (Shiva Boys Hindu College);
Forwards: 17.Justin Araujo-Wilson (Fatima College/Skhy FC), 14.Aamal Julien (Point Fortin East Secondary/Point Fortin Civic).
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I met the team as I departed last Sunday at Piarco…. I wished them luck.. but did they show up to play.. Coaching and motivation must be the key..
How we could send a coach don’t know the players and the assistant coaches is green coaches come on TFA stop making a mockery of our nation and football
this observation I have advance is across the board in Trinidad . and its no only in football[ soccer] notice i left out tobago because it was based on observation .. the eye test . have not seen or know much of the Tobago scenario …..re player grabbing by pro league outfits ,,,youth players that is.
Are you speaking of the 500 Edinburgh academy?
Latapy ….The Best
where I live there are some young football players being ‘coach ‘ by guys who’s background in coaching no one knows also .. its ironic that our youth teams are doing so badly yet all these players are now supposedly with well establish pro league clubs from trinidad ..who are said to be using more scientific and updated methods of coaching [MIMICKING EUROPE’S METHOD.. ..DO NOT SAY ITS THE BEST WAY TO TEACH] and to a lesser extent Tobago .. pray tell me who are the coaches for those programme’s youth organizations. or are the pro league teams just grabbing young players from dedicated coaches with their youth programmes and letting them play for the pro league outfits to claim say, they, the pro league teams got a development programme…. maybe the problem starts with the supposed youth programmes run by the pro league just critical observation ..grabbing the best looking players from dedicated and passionate coaches who may not have all those certificate and lumping them in pro league clubs ..who’s priority may be to win the senior pro league tittle may be the cursed of youth football in trinidad and tobago … LOOK INTO THIS SCENARIO…
Malik to be fair to latas it would take years and years of work to get that team anywhere close to performing at a high level because the players have so many flaws not to mention inexperience , most of these players have never played or travelled abroad before , we need to look at the big picture stupid ass y
Ttfa hiring coaches giving them straw but want gold in return. A national youth coach is not responsible for development his job is to prepare a team for a tournament so imagine someone trying to start a car with a cro bar good luck with that one
If we’re gonna recycle coaches we should at least consider those who were successful. There was this coach who took the first national team to the world cup and lead us to our best ever performance at the gold cup …oh yeahhh ….. “Bertil St Clair “…. never has a coach been so underappreciated. His youth teams have always been very competitive and attack oriented
Yeah but I believe he’s not in the best of health? Additionally, if I remember correctly he had an issue with dreds or something like that.
I’m sorry to hear about his condition 🙁
Yeah he wanted our players cut their dreadlocks eh, except Arnold Dwarika who he couldn’t touched at all, up to this day my prolific goal scorer Irasto Knights want to hit him some taps for that madness for making him cut off his deadlocks in order to make his national team, what does someone hairstyle have to do with playing the beautiful game eh, no wonder that his coaching days was also over coaching any national team the same like Coach Passarella from Argentina who wanted his players to also cut their long hairs steeuuppss.and maybe that is why Holland never won any World Cups, the coaches shudda make Gullit and Rycard and the other players cut of their dreadlocks the same, steeuuppsss again eh. Them really good yes
I think he was just concerned about how men conducted themselves and what impression theh gave….. the army and the navy demands low hair etc everybody have their little idyosyncracies. I don’t know all the details but Bertil was about discipline which our national teams have lacked in our games and our approach. With that being said ……. wtf does a coach not liking dreadlocks have to do with what we were discussing. His health apart we’re looking at criteria for selecting competent coaches and if you’re recycling coaches you bring back coaches with a decent record of success. Yuh talking bout Irasto Knights and how he wanna hit bertil a tap because of the dread ting steups it have more to Irasto than that….. but this is typical ole talk about things not concerned with the overall discussion. Focus Earl
hahahahaha And just imagine on the iron bird eh while the team was on their way to play a game he also gave Irasto Knights some push ups yes just because he left his seat to head to the wash room . Bertile maybe have my greatest EPL Manager blood in his veins eh. Them really good yes.
Lol pushups good for yuh lol
Earl Mango Pierre Very respectfully when i heard about the cutting dreds thing back in the day, that did it for me, back to plant peas in Tobago for you sir.
Yeah but ah guess qualifying for the youth cup didn’t do anything for yuh right….. I not cutting my dreads so lets go get 8-1 from Jamaica but the real issue here is the dreads lol allyuh jokey trini lol
Nah the real issue is that Alyuh really needs to start developing real youth footballers with plenty skills and creativity and real professional youth Coaches in order to always beat up my second sweetest country consistently and I dun talk. Them really good yes.
Earl you couldn’t dun talk if you wanted to lol
hahahahaha On the 24th August I am coming with meh family Jamaican colors to back meh Reggae Boyz, ah tired of the football tabanca in our sweet country, it will be licks like peas for the Soca Worries Alyuh just watch and see eh. Them really good yes.
I don’t know if Alyuh realized something after Bertile I guess the bestest youth coach that qualified for a youth World Cup in 1991 eh and the Magician Russell Latapy one of our greatest players eh, there hasn’t been anyone to follow in their footsteps eh, and Alyuh want to beat up my second sweetest country and qualify for more World Cups youth/senior. Ah set ah bootleg football business in our sweet country eh. Them really good yes.
Like I said, go and plant peas in friggin Tobago..or find some other coaching gig, and rock so with yuh backward thinking self!
Oh Gosh Siewdath Persad fine out all who is on the corrupted TTFA blacklist FOR LIFE before you continue call names nah man..Papa Gally coaching days was over since 1989 eh. Them really good yes hahahaha
We bost of the santa Rosa head coach as fifa and concaf development officers our newely reselected T D from the Anthon corneal yet still no one has the vision towards training fields and venues specific towards youth development you have u 10 competition on large size fields with big post where the little player could bearly move the size 5 ball to the other half of the field it takes the entire team to try an make 2 passes a set of youth minnor leagues where there is cheating of age group kids 13 and under being advantage by bigger boy at ab coaches bosting they winning as i mentioned at the present youth pro league treepeat winners who adopting the best individuals talant and bosting development is the main reson towards our poor structure and development .
It might be worth considering Gally to do some “finishing” work with our young players.
We cannot be using our youth teams as no building block to groom coaches going out there and be humiliated in youth coaching an development this is where your best coaching and development intrest is paid coaches are specialized in different age gruop and coaching concepts you get the best individuals specifically for youth and development and if you not geting the results you get individuals who can get the job done for years we still continue with the same trend your youth teams go out there get humiliated and we just recicling the coaches since after the suscess of BeartHill St clear we suffered a string of failure under many unsuccessfully coaches in a long line of failure Zoran Vranish to now Russell Latapy failure after failure one of the worst embarrassed teams was under Hudson charles micke mc commie wich was just swept under the carpet Vranish was finally gotten rid of with a u 20 team assisted by the present central fc head coach where he could not even lose 5-0 against mexico an at present his name still pops up for national team we got a much better result from sean Cooper at times however the difficult task of coming out of the C o n ca f groups is where he failed the present croup of coaches at pro league teams has proven to be total failure at ever leave given to them .and our foitball localy is not backeward we have experience and knowledgeable coaches some of the best fercelities in the concacaf region however the political style of coaches selection is the main downfall of present results .
Didn’t you expect that these coaches have poor records and keep getting the job
Every past player want to coach is it because you was an average player or good player mean you will be a good coach ? My name i john Doo i has 75 national caps i played at foreign level i came back home to start fresh with out any assessment an evaluation simple because of my good playing name a national team is given to me when i get a good licking an comes back home i move to another age group same story failure i am now recicled to another age group and again the same results . History of our national youth teams .
I’ve also learnt that it’s important to have a good team of coaches around you. One headcoach won’t cut it he needs good people around him with complementary skills (such as a defensive coach). You also look for coaches who can work with youths. …its one thing giving instructions to players who already know the game and possess the necessary technical abilities as opposed to young players who have mastered neither …which is why just because a man has coached Central FC (just an example nothing implied) doesn’t mean he is suited to developing younger players lacking certain tools. It’s a skill ….particularly in effective communication that isnt mastered by everyone. There are coaches out there locally that I’d recommend in a heartbeat if I felt the TTFA would compensate him fairly and give him the relevant resources to excel. They have to be blind to not see how well Levi Garcia and Keston Julien did under his preparation pre contractual tryouts 🙂
Are you referring to sherwood
Lol taking the 5th ….
I hear you bro
I won’t. Sherwood is a boss. Talk done.
Agreed!
Malik anywhere in the world you have a problem don’t they get the best person for the job and hire that person to come and solve the problem jah lillywhite has proven over the last 40 years he is the best youth developmental coach in Trinidad , so why not bring him in to coordinate and set up a youth program instead of wasting time with these people
Dion I agree 200% but the question needs to be directed to DJW and maybe Shabazz can answer that one of these days 🙂
Pres, Naps, Fyzo, Sviva Boys finish in top 5 of the secondary school league. Where are the players from those School?
Russell might be correct when he said we’re close in terms of “potential and talent” but no matter how talented the players are, it’s still a team sport and requires a certain level of discipline and intangible qualities to be successful at a higher level. Trinidadian football (at all levels) for far too long has been more about assembling a collection of talented individuals than creating a team. Should we really have expected different results?
I expected more of Latas ….. I’m disappointed in his efforts ….. the player is clearly not the coach …..
I think he’ll get there. He is too smart of a man not to be successful as a coach but it takes time and he’ll need the right support structure.
Brilliant player ……
Malik Johnson you also have to be disappointed in the quality of the players, they definitely wasn’t coached properly from the youth level, ah set ah bootleg players eh. Them really good yes.
Someone raised a good point through which is – does one use the national team level to become a good coach or should that level be occupied by someone who is already a proven individual? That said, I’m a big fan of Latas, he was brilliant!
…as a player. It does not follow, as many have pointed out, that he will perform at similar high levels as a coach.
And on the evidence we have so far…
Yeah he was really a brilliant player and has the bestest football record than any other Trini/ Tobago player eh.Them really good yes.
National teams should always be managed by real professional Coaches not beginners eh, and he is no different to Coach Tom Seinfet eh with his loosing record. Them really good yes.
Is ah good thing my greatest player in the universe knew his place and left the Coaching business to others eh. Them really good yes.
Anthony – I agree 100% with Earl. All of the national teams should always by led by those with the necessary experience and credentials. I was fortunate enough to attend the recently concluded U-11 RBYL finals and both teams (who probably did not have the most talented players in the country) still played with a level of tactical discipline that I think the men’s national team would struggle with!
Earl – if only Cruyff played with the players that Pele had … ?
Monumental task ahead…if anything…picking the youngsters up psychologically would be the first order of business. Russell should also consider hitting the ground, travel through out the country a bit, communicate and develop relationships with coaches who work with young players, invite them to sessions so that they can observe, let them know what qualities and attributes they should be developing in their respective players based on deficiencies that the current U15 group possess…there are good people around who may not necessarily be the association’s cup of tea, but they care. There are people here both locally and abroad who have themselves produced kids who represent the US team at various levels – reach out – foster a community. At the end of the day, when our national youth teams struggle – we all struggle, we all want to see better days!
The very first time the u 15 tournament was held at Caribbean level tnt did ok there were teams like canada wich was coached by Heart since then not much development was placed at this age group is just u 17 and u 20 only when tournament comes around
Lol
Some years ago when he was coaching a youth team I stopped by the stadium outside field to check out his coaching abilities, so after the training concluded I proceeded along with meh good friend Marlon Morris (Stirke Squad) out of the training field towards the stadium, chatting about this and that and on reaching the entrance to go into the locker rooms. Marlon invited me in I guess just to chat to the players nah, and before I could answer him, Mr. Angus heard him and stopped me and said that Marlon didn’t have that authority to allow me in the dressing room yes, so I said Mr. Angus I wasn’t going into the locker room eh boss because I stopped talking to our younger players a very long time ago eh and just imagine that sometime before that one of my prolific goal scorers from Carenage Kerry Baptiste had asked me to come down to Carenage to honor an individual who was responsible for developing plenty youths down there eh I forgot his name and I was told that he even passed away. Well I also made up two plaques and one for Angus Eve because he was an aspiring future Coach in my books so I gave both of them to Kerry to do his thing because he was very late to meet me and I had another appointment and they know that I don’t play when it comes to being on time growing up in my second sweetest country eh. and just imagine that maybe things went to his head yes when he became the Coach of the national youth team eh. Them really good yes.
At youth level in particular, we need a coach who understands the psychological framework and processes of teaching, learning and conditioning. If practise makes perfect, then if the youths practise things wrongly, they will only perfect it wrongly. And that’s exactly how they will be conditioned, with the outcome or results being recurrent failures. Followed by a million and one excuses.
Siewdath Persad that suggestion will fall on deaf ears because Angus Eve is on the corrupted TTFA blacklist the same as Coach Terry Fenwick because of their mouths eh, and yes I agree just give them their chances and just hold them accountable that is all. Them really good yes.