Tag Archives: SSFL

SSFL 2022: Championship matches postponed on eve of kickoff due to “logistical and technical constraints”

The Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) executive committee today announced the postponement of Boys Championship Division matches in the North, East, Central and Tobago Zones, barely 24 hours before kickoff on Tuesday 13 September. The decision will impact 24 schools across Trinidad and Tobago who were preparing to make their …

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Republic Cup announces TT$3,000 first prize; Shem explains 7-a-side format and scouting

Gateway Athletics director Adrian Romain confirmed today that the grand winners of the Republic Cup Youth Football Tournament will walk away with TT$3,000 each. The competition, which will be run in a seven-a-side format, has five categories: Boys 17-19, Girls 17-19, Boys Under-16, Girls Under-16 and Boys Under-14. The overall …

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Gonzales: Vaccine hesitancy torpedoed 2021 SSFL season; Jamaica student athletes all vaccinated

Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) president Merere Gonzales has suggested that vaccine hesitancy among Trinidad and Tobago’s student population could be a key factor in the Government’s decision to block schools football for the second successive season. Gonzales said the SSFL executive had been in communication with the ministries of …

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Barney’s bible: The SSFL’s backward rule change; and what Yorke and Jordan did that our youths abandoned

So far I have only touched on youth development from a ball manipulation and decision-making viewpoint. However, playing in competitive games non-stop can also hinder the physical development and health of players.  Again, the local adage that ‘the more you play, the better you get’ is misleading on this count. …

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Barney’s bible: ‘The more games you play, the better you get’ fallacy leaves T&T players underdeveloped

Youth development in Trinidad, simply put, consists of tournaments and competitions. The Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL), Youth Pro League (YPL), Republic Bank Youth League, Next Level U-19 Tournament and Commissioner’s Cup are the main players in this arena.  I will use the SSFL as the starting point of the …

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Barney’s bible: Does T&T player development follow best practices? Are our youth competitions helping or hurting?

A question on The Burdie and Barney podcast during our discussion with former England Premier League and 2006 World Cup goalkeeper Shaka Hislop lingered long after that episode was over:  Have we been developing players? Or were we just blessed with talented players previously and, now, not so much?  At …

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