By Ras Wadada

AFTER starting all 20 games of the 2019 season for Eastern Florida State College in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division 1 Soccer, the only disappointment for Guyanese Curtez Kellman Jr is not lifting the Championship.

In his first season of a 2-year full scholarship Kellman, who just turned 22, has cemented his place in the Titans team at central defence though he will quickly tell you his real position is central midfield. The Pisces-born who had a belated start to the ‘Beautiful Game’ continues to flourish after only 8 years of involvement and his eyes are now set on playing professionally.

Speaking to Chronicle Sport exclusively from his forced confinement in Miami due to COVID-19, Kellman recalled how he got started, “Growing up in East Ruimveldt it was easy to get involved in the sport since it was popular and almost all the youths played in the streets and were members of a club; but because my mom was overly protective due to the kind of negatives associated with the game, I was not allowed to participate.

“I, however, was encouraged by my friends to join GFC at the age of 14 and that’s where it started, but mind you, football is in my genes as my father played in his time.”

Although he was raw talent when he went to GFC his character spoke volumes and caught the eyes of the club’s manager Faizal Khan, “His work ethics and passion for the game were very impressive and add to that his discipline and respect for everyone. For someone who started playing late he had a decent first touch and was very coachable and these are attributes any coach would embrace.

“I am happy how he has developed and we at GFC are proud of his achievements, so far, and more importantly that his talents are paying for his education,” Khan expressed.

His name quickly became household among his peers and age-group players and even his Mom, with pride, started to follow his games and his rise to prominence. His boundless talent was now the talk among followers of the game and soon he was recruited from St Mary’s High School and given a scholarship to attend Chase Academy.

His biggest moment of surprise, however, came in November of 2017 when he was selected to represent the Guyana senior national team in an away friendly International versus Indonesia at the age of 19. Earlier in the same year between March and May he was contracted by Antiguan side Grenades FC to play in the Caribbean Football Union’s Club Championship.

“I must admit I was surprised to be called up although I was enjoying a solid and consistent Elite league season for GFC, but, yes, it was a big moment. I played at central midfield, coming on for Anthony Benfield after 14 minutes of the game that ended in a 1-2 loss for us.

“I was a little nervous at first, but quickly adapted once I got onto the pitch. It was a good game ‘end to end’ and played at a good level. The atmosphere of the game on November 25 I will never forget”, a satisfied debutant Kellman recounted.

The self-acclaimed, down-to-earth and jovial Kellman’s hunger to achieve more in the sport grew more intense and that led him to Florida where Guyanese educator, Albert Cappell, arranged for him to play in try-outs for the Eastern Florida State College Titans. Such was his impressive performances in the January 2019 try-outs that English-born coach, Oliver Twelvetrees, provided Kellman Jr with a full 2-year scholarship.

It was a decision that the coach never regretted as the Titans made it to the Championship game for the first time in the school’s history, losing 1-2 to Monroe College in Tyler, Texas. The mere presence of the athleticism and soccer intelligence of Kellman in the defense played a pivotal role in the Titans cenjoying a season where they only lost twice, to same Monroe College, while recording 16 wins and two draws. It was a record-breaking season for the Titans that included 13 clean sheets.

”The result in the final could have been different had we not lost two players due to red card. We were all disappointed at losing but revenge is on our minds already, so this coming season we will be determined to avenge that defeat and bring home the first title for the College,” Kellman promised.

Kellman who is majoring in Business Administration is thinking ahead of his completion at Eastern Florida State College and is seriously planning to play soccer professionally. “It has not been an easy journey so far since it is a real challenge to balance books and football, but I devised a daily routine and have stuck with it and it has worked.”

“All I have achieved would not have been possible without the care and support of my parents, Mr Albert Cappell, Mr Faizal Khan as well as my aunts and uncles, and to them I am very grateful,” Kellman proclaimed.

At the moment, Kellman, together with another national footballer, Jeremy Garret, is being held up in Miami due to COVID-19, but thanks to the intervention of the Director of Sport, Christopher Jones the players’ welfare is being taken care of by the Guyana Consulate in Florida until the airports here reopen.

Until that time Kellman can only look forward to his return home where he knows he can enjoy his favourite meal of fried rice with baked chicken and macaroni.