A coach from Team Saint Lucia at the Caribbean Football Union Boys Under-14 Challenge Series is asking businesses for more support to help improve the coaching programme. The team, made up of players from almost every part of the island, is now in Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, after months of training.
In recent years, the senior national team has depended a lot on its youth system. Players such as goalkeeper Vino Barclett, defender Melvin Doxilly, and striker Kegan Caull all moved up from the Under-15 and Under-19 teams.
Assistant coach Earl “Ball Hog” Jean believes the current group is just as talented, but says they need more support to reach the next level. The SLFA has organised Under-12 and Under-14 competitions for several years, and Under-19 competitions this year. There is also plenty of club football for players up to age 16.
Jean is glad to see so much football being played, but he insists that more needs to be done to support the efforts of leagues and clubs.
“What the game needs, especially in Saint Lucia, is that we need to put players in a programme. We need to keep them, get transportation for them, and get meals for them. That is the biggest challenge for us,” Jean explained.
“The players are interested because, since the primary school and national programmes started for Under-12s and Under-14s, you have seen a big improvement in youth football in Saint Lucia. The most important thing is getting businesses to come and support the Federation.
“This is the next generation of talent for Saint Lucia; to get them out into Europe and onto scholarships. So financial support is key.”
Alongside current Under-14 head coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier, Jean was a top striker with W Connection FC in the Trinidad & Tobago Professional Football League in the early 2000s. Both coaches came up through the Saint Lucia youth system years ago.
Jean told St Lucia Times that tournaments like the CFU Under-14 and Concacaf Under-15 are crucial for helping their young players grow.
“The competitions have been integral for progress in Saint Lucia,” he said. “The long-term development plan for Saint Lucia is about starting with the youth teams, from primary school going up.
“The [Saint Lucia Football Association] president [Lyndon Cooper] has made a special effort to get the High Performance Centre going, and now we have a FIFA Talent ID Coach working with Coach Stuart Charles and myself. We have a very good crop of players coming through that will help and benefit the national programmes.”
