Coach pleased with women footballers

MARLON CHARLES, coach of the national women’s football team, is pleased with the turnout and progress of both the senior and Under-19 teams.

The squads are undergoing training sessions during this Christmas period as they prepare for forthcoming CONCACAF tournaments. The seniors are preparing for the final round of qualifiers in Mexico from February 25-March 7 for a spot in the Athens Olympic Games while the juniors are fine-tuning their skills for forthcoming Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualifiers. “We have had one and a half weeks of training, after which (the Christmas weekend) we’ll be restarting on the 29th,” said Charles during the team’s practice at the Marvin Lee Stadium, Tunapuna on Monday. “The main emphasis is to build the teams,” he continued, “and  we’re taking a good look at the Under-19 players.”

A number of Under-19 players, including the likes of strikers Maylee Attin-Johnson, Ahkeela Mollon and Tanekar Alexander, defenders Kia Rigsby and Katrina Mayer, as well as midfielders Nadia James, Nyasha Reyes, Aveann Douglas and Ayanna Russell, are regular members of the senior team. As a result Charles noted that: “we’re trying to get a core of new players for the Under-19 team as we have a full team of seniors.” “We (the technical staff) are looking at the long-term development of the team, with the short term goals being the games we’ll be playing during the year.” He continued: “We are trying to produce better players who are fully educated on the game.”

Included in the sessions are players based in colleges and universities in the United States, including Mollon, Regina McGhee, Rheann Elder, Avionne Tobias, Janelle Noel and Ariahn Dasent. And the local lasses (seniors and Under-19s) are expected to face Canada Under-19s in three warm-up matches in January at the Marvin Lee Stadium, with the TT seniors in action in January 15 while the Under-19s will square off against the visitors on January 17 and 19.