Junior golfers ‘the strongest’

The Trinidad and Tobago junior golf team selected for the upcoming Caribbean Championships has been described as the strongest ever. Robert Costelloe, chairman of the Golf Association’s Junior Golf Committee, said yesterday that the 13-member team, which will be led by Simon Merry, is a credit to all who have contributed to their development.

Occasion was a media conference to announce the national representatives for the annual regional championships which will be staged this year in Freeport, Bahamas from July 6 to 11.In attendance at Republic Bank’s head office on Park Street, Port-of-Spain were Costelloe, Anna-Maria Garcia-Brooks, Manager Group Corporate Com-munications, Republic Bank; Ian de Souza, General Manager Designate, Republic Bank Limted Risk Management; Basil Gonsalves, Selector/Junior Co-ordinator, Golf Association Junior Golf; and Sandra Montano, head Junior Golf Programme, Pointe-a-Pierre Golf Course. The team selected is (Boys) Under-18 —- Simon Merry (captain), Jordan Delaney, Shane Costelloe; Under-15 —- Ben Martin, Robert Llanos, Dahomey Kadera; Under-12 —- Glen Charlett, Joshua Galt; (Girls) Under-18 —- Diana Torry, Reva Persaud; Under-15 —-Tracey Clarke, Victoria Seenath; Under-12 —- Catherine Clarke, Anneke Ward.

Costelloe, a former junior player who was among the first to be involved in the local programme to develop the sport at that level more than 23 years ago said golf was the perfect conduit through which young people could channel their talent and energies into becoming wholesome adults.He praised Republic Bank for their foresight going back four years ago to get involved in the junior golf programme which has already produced two regional championships (2000 and 2001) and a runner’s up spot last year in the Cayman Islands. Costelloe said in the coming weeks the players will concentrate on their mental game and are to be sch-ooled in the techniques of handling the pressures of the game with emphasis on the short game and course management. Garcia-Brooks also announced that Republic Bank will host a workshop next week for the young golf envoys when they will benefit from motivational sessions and exposed to aspects of team building which is a necessary component of success. She expressed confidence that the young golf stars will excel in the Caribbean Championships and was proud that Republic Bank would have a hand in their expected exemplary accomplishments.

Ian De Souza said the continuing challenge is to ensure that diverse opportunities abound for promoting self-development among the youngsters since the goal is to provide a core foundation that will allow them to reach their full potential. “Whether it is golf, football, netball, our Youth Apprentice Programme or our Pan Minors Scholarship Programme, we would like our young people to learn that self-development begins with commitment and a healthy dose of integrity,” De Souza said. He said Republic Bank view the upcoming Caribbean Championships not just as a competition for the young golfers to shine but as an opportunity for them to grow. In her turn, Sandra Montano traced the development of the sport at the junior level observing its growth from exclusively St Andrew’s Golf Club at Moka to Tobago, Brechin Castle, St Madeleine, Chaguaramas, Point-a-Pierre and now at a girl’s college in San Fernando. “You could say that junior golf is on the move and this is due in a large part to the involvement, support and friendship of the Republic Bank,” Montano said