Gordon eyes future with G Maceo U14s, U15s

Garvey Maceo High School Under-14 and -16 football team coach Merron Gordon, is proud of their performance this season after both sides captured their respective titles last week.

The Under-14 team defeated Spalding High School 2-1 to take their first-ever title, while the Under-16s won 6-4 on penalties over Muschett High School after they played out a 2-2 draw in relegation time.

Both finals were played at the Manchester High School field last Thursday.

Gordon, who is in his first year as coach at the school, says the future looks bright for the school's football programme.

"It means a whole lot," he said. "We are not into a quick fix. We're trying to build a solid foundation, and you know foundation comes with youth programmes. I'm in charge of all the teams, so we are trying to build from the youth programme.

"We had four players from the Under-14s and two from the Under-16s who played in the daCosta Cup team. We are definitely building for the future, so we knew that we had a good chance if we put some work into the youth programme.

"It was a big thing for the school. We have never won the Under-14 and have won the Under-16 way back in the '90s. So this would not only do us well for next year, but years to come."

Gordon, whose objective was to create a programme that would be a dominant force in three years, said given the success this year, they could be a force to reckon with next season.

He singled out the performance of Under-16 striker Gregory Cousins, who scored 13 goals to add to his eight from the daCosta Cup.

"It looks good for next year, but I think also, for the year after, 2020, we are going to be very dominant," Gordon shared. "That was my aim for the third year, to be dominant. Nevertheless, we are not ruling out next year because sometimes a player can surprise you and mature quickly.

"With this new ISSA rule where you can only bring in three players, I definitely have to build a good youth programme."