Malick honours Warriors quintet

SOCA WARRIORS quintet Dennis Lawrence, Densil Theobald, Aurtis Whitley, Jason Scotland and Brent Sancho were the guests of honour at their alma mater, Malick Secondary Comprehensive School, yesterday morning.

The group were the first inductees into the school’s Hall of Fame, which was based on their achievements with the national football team.

The players all had pivotal roles with the Warriors’ successful qualification to the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany, with Lawrence’s 48th minute goal against Bahrain, on November 16 2005, giving Trinidad and Tobago a 1-0 win and a place in the 32-team competition. Lawrence and fellow defender Brent Sancho were integral members of coach Leo Beenhakker’s defensive line-up while Theobald and Whitley were stand-outs in the midfield and Scotland was a reserve striker in the TT squad. At the school’s auditorium yesterday, the footballers were all recipients of plaques following which, they all expressed their gratitude towards the teachers of the school for the roles they (the teachers) had in the players’ development. Theobald, in particular, urged the students to disregard the negative stigma of the school’s environment and become positive influences in Trinidad and Tobago’s society.

Lawrence and Sancho were all thankful to a number of the school’s administrators for guiding them along a path of productivity while Whitley and Scotland noted that the discipline instilled by the football coaches were crucial in their development.

Also speaking at the ceremony was Fitzgerald Hinds, Junior Minister of National Security and parliamentary representative for Laventille East/Morvant. Hinds mentioned that the players were duly rewarded for their work on the football fields, in addition to being positive role models for the current crop of Malick students. Following the function, a billboard was unveiled at the corner of the Morvant Junction and Eastern Main Road, with Newsday photos of Lawrence, Theobald, Whitley, Scotland, Sancho and another Morvant resident Russell “Little Magician” Latapy.

Hinds later extended his gratitude to the “People’s Paper” for the use of its photos on the billboard.