Eleven talented, hard-working Saint Lucian footballers will soon leave local shores to pursue sports scholarships in the USA.
This is a result of collaboration between the Saint Lucia Football Association (SLFA) and AR Student Athlete Soccer Scholarship Academy in New Jersey, USA.
Led by founder, director, and head coach Anthony Roy, the Academy is dedicated to creating opportunities for student athletes at Junior colleges, colleges, and universities in North America.
In November 2023, Coach Roy visited Saint Lucia for a talent identification camp. That camp resulted in the award of nearly a dozen scholarships to national players at various levels, including nine women and two men.
The recipients, hailing from Laborie, Canaries, Micoud, Mabouya Valley, Dennery, Anse La Raye, Marchand, Gros Islet, Vieux Fort, and Desruisseaux, will be taking advantage of over USD $2 million in scholarships.
Arnicka Louis is the headliner, returning to Indian Hills Community College. The 19-year-old attacker is a seasoned women’s international.
She was Saint Lucia’s leading scorer in the 2023 Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup Qualifying campaign, and was named to the Team Of The Week.
Louis, from Marchand, returns to Indian Hills after redshirting her freshman year.
Four student athletes will be attending Bryant & Stratton College. Brittney Moncherry, Harmanie Jones, Clowie William, and Sabrina Avril will be lining up in women’s soccer for the Bobcats.
Two more will be taking up their studies and furthering their athletic acumen at Allen Community College, namely Shania Charles and Josh Hunte.
Joshua Boland is set to further his education and play football for the Point University Skyhawks.
Seasoned senior international Giana Hilton will slot into the midfield at Kentucky’s Union Commonwealth. Shaniya Scott will enroll at Highland CC. And Makhaya Smith will develop at Central Christian College.
“It was an honour working with all the national youth soccer teams here in Saint Lucia,” said Roy, a native of Trinidad & Tobago. “Thank you to Proven Bank, Blue Waters, the Saint Lucia Football Association, all the wonderful sponsors, the amazing footballers, and their parents.”
Having spent just four days in Saint Lucia, Roy sees much greater potential for the island to source and access collegiate scholarships than is currently the case.
Roy has worked with youngsters from around the region in a variety of sports and with a network of coaches and administrators at over 300 schools in the USA.
“Your student athletes in Saint Lucia are very good at their work,” he enthused. “They are very athletic, hard working. They are good students as well, which is important. A pathway needs to be created to get more of them out there. And with my programme, we can do more to support volleyball, track and field, basketball, you name it!”
According to SLFA officials, this group of athletes is likely to be the single largest cohort of scholarship recipients ever from Saint Lucia.
Splendid !
Congratulations to all the awardees. Go and make something great of yourselves and never forget you homeland.
To the editor: it would have been even more enlightening if the article made mention of what academic subjects the awardees were pursuing.
Please ensure that you all have a good support system in place. Especially, if you have never traveled away from St. Lucia to a place like the US. Godspeed
Who was the the Minister of sports during the 2016 to 2021 regime? To me I did not hear of anything he did? Was he getting a salary?