By Rawle Toney

GUYANA’S Senior National female football team – the Lady Jags – will wrap up their one-week training camp today in Toronto, Canada, as the team heighten preparation for their participation at the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifier tournament. The Lady Jags will play their first game of the tournament against Canada on Thursday February 11, at the BBVA Compass Stadium in Texas, in the February 10-21 tournament in Houston and Frisco, Texas.
Guyana were placed in Group B of the tournament, along with Trinidad and Tobago and Guatemala, while World Champions USA head the perceived ‘Group of Death’ that also includes rivals Mexico, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica.
Speaking to Chronicle Sport, yesterday, head coach Mark Rodrigues detailed that his Lady Jags had a practice game against a men’s team of former and current pro and college players.
He added that the game provided his team with a fiercely competitive environment that forced the players to play quicker, battle for possession and then apply what was taught to them in maintaining possession while looking to penetrate.
“The team performed as we expected and highlighted areas that we need to address in upcoming sessions,” Rodrigues said.
The Lady Jags head coach pointed out that the team’s fitness “continued to be aggressively reinforced especially when players are not encamped. Elite Fitness coach David Lawrence and Elite Physiotherapist Chris Harris have been extremely busy assessing and working with the players in areas of fitness, nutrition, recovery and in designing them individual programmes to ensure peak performance at the Championships”.
Head coach Mark Rodrigues will have his assistant Clement Browne, goalkeeping coach Richard Reynolds and technical director Claude Bolton in Toronto to help in getting the Lady Jags tournament-ready.
This will be the team’s last time together before travelling to the USA in another attempt to create history and qualifier for the Olympic Games in Brazil later this year.
Guyana finished third in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) qualifier tournament behind winners Trinidad and Tobago and second-placers Puerto Rico, to be the region’s representatives at the CONCACAF showpiece.
Placed in Group B of the tournament, Guyana are alongside Trinidad and Tobago, Canada and Guatemala.
Tournament hosts USA, regarded as the best women’s football team in the world, will come up against rivals Mexico, Puerto Rico and Costa Rica. Only the top two teams from the tournament will advance to Brazil as CONCACAF representatives at the Olympic Games.
Guyana will play their second game against Guatemala on February 14 and their final group game against Trinidad and Tobago two days later.