Ballaz Academy off to Florida for Springs Holiday Cup
Published:Tuesday | December 13, 2022 | 1:36 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Ballaz International Group Founder and Director Andre Virtue says that the rare opportunity to send their younger age group teams to compete internationally will benefit them in their development as players both on and off the field, and they are determined to compete, learn and grow from the experience.
Virtue was speaking as four teams departed the island yesterday for the Springs Holiday Cup Tournament and three-day Training Camp in Coral Springs, Florida, which will last until December 19. The tournament starts on Friday
The teams involved will consist of the under-9, under-10, under-11 and under-12 teams, the latter of which were crowned all-island champions. It is an opportunity that Virtue says is normally planned for the older age groups but saw a window to give their younger age-groups exposure to international competition, an opportunity that they hope they will seize.
“They haven’t had the opportunity to play in tournaments. Right now the timing was great for us to carry a couple of the teams. The under-12s are the all-island champions and I think it is deserving for them to now test their skills against some other talents. They are one of our stronger teams going and we hope that they go over there and produce and perform,” Virtue said. “And the other ones that are going is to really show that there is a pipeline of players.”
Virtue said that the growth of youth football in the United States as well as the frequency of youth tournaments in the country made it a great fit for their academy to test themselves against teams who are used to a more organised system. However, Virtue says that it is the perfect environment to compete, learn and grow.
“The US is growing, they are spending a lot of time on the grassroots, developing players. Every week they are playing in travel tournaments all over the place. I just know that a lot of football is being played. We only play in pockets of time, it would mean that they are used to each other, they are teams that are well-oiled. We are going out there to win but we understand that there might be some highs and lows and that is the perfect opportunity,” Virtue said.
It is an experience full-back Jevon Richards, a member of the successful under-12 says that he is looking forward to representing Jamaica and also showing his abilities to a bigger audience in pursuit of his dreams of being a professional player.
“It is great because I can show my family that this is what I want to do and I can express how I feel about the game,” Richards said. With many of the teams finishing their competitive seasons with their respective primary and preparatory schools, Virtue says that they are in the right frame of mind competitively to give their best while continuing the path of their long-term development at this crucial stage.
“If you give a 10 year-old an opportunity to travel, understand about playing, resting, recovery, playing a game, watching a game (they will benefit). They watch it on TV, they hear people talk about it but they don’t experience it themselves and now for us it’s to give them that experience so they can say I experienced this as opposed to someone telling them about it.”