THE initiative was birthed under former Technical Director of the GFF, Claude Bolton, in 2015, but was rolled out under current GFF Technical Director Ian Greenwood in January of 2017 with sponsorship from Scotiabank.

By now you are aware that we are talking about the Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Scotiabank Academy Training Centres which is a nationwide initiative aimed at setting a solid technical and tactical foundation for the next generation of national players, Golden Jaguars and Lady Jags.

Bolton, in his wisdom to have these centres going, facilitated a ‘D’ Licensed Coaches Course to equip coaches with the relevant knowledge to empower the main and most important resources, our young players.

Former player, president and founder of the Herstelling Raiders Football Club, now GFF Technical Development Officer of the East Bank Football Association, Devnon Winter, was successful in the Bolton-ran course which was the beginning of what is turning out to be an exciting coaching journey.

So it was no surprise that the current GFF and TD Greenwood chose Winter as the leader of the Scotiabank/EBFA Academy Training Centre, which caters for players from age 6 to 17 from all clubs affiliated to the association and which are held primarily on Saturdays and Sundays due to the fact that these kids have to attend school during the week which makes it challenging for during-the-week sessions.

Coach Winter: “It has been one year now that the academy is actually up and running. We have been able to get our grassroots sessions running every Saturday targeting players from age five (5) to eleven (11).

“We try to make it a fun thing for these kids as we try to get them to like the game. You must note that these are players who have never been exposed to the game these sessions go for one hour, 09:00hrs to 10:00hrs.”

Following the grassroots segment of the academy; attention turns to the U-13 players.
“This session kicks off at 10:30hrs to last for one hour and it is at this age we teach the basics of the game, like coordination and control of the ball with your feet and head. We do not do any tactical work as yet; we expose them to lots of technical work as laid out in the framework, set out by the GFF’s Technical Department.”

Winter informed that the Youth Technical Development Officer of the GFF, Bryan Joseph, circulates on a weekly basis, the framework that should be used by all the academy training centres as all the sessions are run in a uniform manner.

“Every academy across Guyana does the same session on a weekly basis, for e.g, if our U-13s are doing passes this Saturday, that is mirrored across Guyana and it also includes the warm-up session. This is repeated for two weeks before we go to something else. So this is the plan that we follow, as set out by the Youth Development Coach and the TD of the GFF.”

The U-15 sessions are almost similar to the U-13s but Winter shared that the sessions are a bit more intense where a bit more is applied to the players when they are on the ball. This is where more tactics are introduced and will flow right into the U-17s. Winter also noted that by this stage, the players would have come through the mill from the grassroots level all the way up and would be model players.

The academies are made up of the best players in the associations: “Yes, we have the best players at the various levels mentioned before, the 16 best inclusive of two goalkeepers each. We work to take them to the next level of technical and tactical soundness.
“We also focus on ensuring that these players are good ambassadors all-round, meaning they are responsible and display the right attitude on and off the field.
“We try to teach them basic life skills and apart from that, we encourage them to be positive in their thinking and general outlook.”

Winter also pointed out that weekly reports are sent to the GFF of the past week which would include any incidents as well as suggestions on how they (coaches) feel about the sessions along with suggestions.
“Basically, these academy players have to be at their best in terms of their behaviour and mannerisms as long as they are part of this set-up. This is not just about talent and being technically good, there are other attributes that come along with being an academy player.”

The multiplicity of youth tournaments played on the East Bank affords coaches the opportunity to scout the best available players at the U-13, U-15 and U-17 levels which prompted coach Winter to say emphatically, that he has the best teams at these levels in Guyana.

Another strategy, Winter shared, that is encouraged is that players must know the names of one another, including their call names, as they strive to build a solid chemistry and relationships among the players.
The job is by no means an easy task but Winter boasted that he and his team of seven coaches love what they do.

“I have an excited team of coaches working along with me, on shaping the next generation of players in our association and by extension, Guyana. Two joined the fold recently, Dillion Roberts and Cordel Johnson. We are all on the same page before starting every session and everyone has the chance to run sessions.”

The other five coaches on board are Winter, Levi Braithwaite, Orien Angoy and junior coaches Walter Scott and Amanda Angoy. In relation to club support, Winter noted that many clubs would have been somewhat hesitant initially. Winter and Braithwaite are full time employees of the GFF.

“There is a kind of culture that came from way back where clubs were hesitant to send their players thinking that this is something where a coach just wants to see the players and if they have good talent we take them to a particular club but that is not what we are about.

“Our ultimate goal is to get the players technically and tactically sound to make it at the national or professional levels and to be the best possible players they can be.”
Winter is happy that the response now is great, to the extent that more coaches and club administrators are getting on board week in and week out.

“I would like to say that the support of the EBFA has been tremendous in terms of support for the ATC. Clubs are responding in a huge way. Sessions are held every week, rain or shine. The GFF also needs to be commended for the vision it has shown in ensuring that the ATC is supported.”

Many of the players would have already made the national team. Tyrell Khan made the Under-17 team even as a 15-year-old and is now one of the leading players in the academy. Khan and Shannon Samnauth were part of the historic U-15 team that won the Squaglia Cup in St Martin last year.

Other players called at the U-14 level are Shoran James, Devon Padmore, Solomon Austin and Devon Scott. On the radar is Neron Barrow. Winter noted that the player would have been scouted by coaches outside of the EBFA pool.
“The work has just started and we are committed to doing our best to ensure that the next generation of national players will be sound, solid and able to represent their nation with pride.”

Looking ahead, Winter said that based on an increased pool of coaches, he plans to launch grassroots programmes at Agricola and Kuru Kururu – a strategic move to assist players from that area..
“When this is achieved, there would be three grassroots programmes, run in tandem which would further increase the talent pool on the East Bank..

“I think in time to come, the standard of football from U-15 would be impacted in a positive way at the national level based on the level of work we are doing. The process would be gradual and once we are consistent, we will reap the rewards.”