Whitmore gives clinics thumbs up

Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer

ST JOHN'S, Antigua:

Antigua and Barbuda was the latest territory to benefit from the Digicel coaching clinics which bring the expertise and enthusiasm of some of the best coaches in the Barclays English Premier League to aspiring young footballers and coaches in the Caribbean.

The clinics, which concluded on Saturday, were conducted by Sunderland's assistant academy manager Kevin Ball and under-9 to under-16 academy coach, Carlton Fairweather at the Antigua Recreation Ground.

The three Jamaican youngsters who were selected from the Digicel Caribbean Cup coaching clinic to watch the matches in Group G of the Digicel Caribbean Cup - Kendon Anderson, Dujon Williams and Romony Hilton, along with Reggae Boyz head coach, Theodore 'Tappa' Whitmore, got a first-hand view of the clinic as well as meet and converse with the Sunderland coaches.

"I believe that these coaching clinics that have been staged by Digicel are a wonderful venture," Whitmore said. "Any initiative to aid in the development of football in the region is welcome and I would like to challenge other corporate bodies to follow Digicel's example and invest in football from an early stage.

"Youngsters across the region and coaches have been exposed to top-level coaches from one of the world's most celebrated leagues and that can only augur well for the development of regional football," he added. Whitmore left Antigua yesterday to meet up with the Reggae Boyz in Fort Lauderdale for tomorrow's friendly against Costa Rica.

Williams was grateful for the chance to interact with the two coaches and to have been exposed to the requirements to play in the English Premier League.

"It was great to have got the opportunity to meet two English Premier League coaches," Williams said. "It was nice to have the chance to talk with them and to hear what it takes to play in the English Premier League," he added.

One-week stint

The Digicel Kick Start Clinic was started in 2007 when England and Liverpool football legend, John Barnes, was contracted as head coach of the clinics. He visited numerous Caribbean islands coaching youngsters, after which eight of them were selected for a one-week coach stint at Barclays English Premier League club Sunderland.

This was repeated in 2008 but on this occasion Central America was included and Ian Rush-conducted the clinics there, with the top youngsters granted the opportunity to visit Manchester City.

Gillian Power, Digicel's Group public relations executive, explained the rationale behind the staging of the clinics.

"As part of our promise to give back to our communities, Digicel has been involved in a wide range of football initiatives designed to support the development of football in the Caribbean and Central America - from grass-roots level right through to national level," Power outlined. "The Digicel football clinics are designed to nurture talent - as well as excite and inspire young footballers to work hard and be the best they can."