Coach has high hopes for hockey5s squad

Jamaica Hockey5s World Cup coach Duvaughn Henlon says there is no limit to what they can accomplish with the squad they have selected for the tournament and he is confident the team can progress beyond the group stage.

Jamaica who have been placed in Pool B with world number-three ranked India, Egypt and Switzerland, named a 15-man squad for the World Cup set to take place in Oman, January 28-31.

Henlon said they have a good mix of youth and experience and expects the team, ranked 68th in the world, to be very competitive against the Indians and get wins over their other opponents.

However, he noted that the team lacks high-level match practice, which is their biggest shortcoming.

“It is a bunch of talented players. It is competitive squad. We think we selected the best players to represent Jamaica at this moment,” he said.

“We have a mixture of youth and experience. George McGlashen has more than 50 caps and we also have some youngsters who have been training with the programme for the last two years,” he told The Gleaner.

“Christopher Reid, who played at the under-18 level, was a part of the squad for the qualifiers and throughout training over the last six months he has been the most-improved player and we look for some good things from him.”

He pointed out that some of the youngsters who played at the under-18 level have now transitioned to the senior team, while seniors, such as captain and goalkeeper Ajani Burtom, McGlashen and US-based Kemar Mitchell are expected to lead from the front.

“We expect great things from Ajani Burton our goalkeeper. At the last tournament he was voted best goalkeeper. So we expect big saves from him to keep us in games, and we have McGlashen, and Mitchell, who plays in the US. We expect them to add to our game.

“All the players are very talented and we look forward to a good performance,” he said.

Advancing to the second round is the team’s objective and Henlon said the idea is not far-fetched.

“There is no limit to how far we think we can go. There is no cap on our ceiling. Jamaicans are always surprising everybody.

“We have an open mind and the first aim is to make it out of the group. Once we make it out of the group we will just take it game after game.

“In our group India are the biggest threat. They are ranked three in the world and we think we will be able to give them a challenge.

“But we have definitely set ourselves on getting good results against Egypt and Switzerland, and if we secure two wins we will make it out of the group,” Henlon said.

Nevertheless, he believes their lack of match practice might make things a bit more challenging.

“The only thing we are lacking is match practice. We haven’t played any competitive games since July, when we played in the field hockey at the Central American and Caribbean Games. We have just been playing squad matches, and we think that might be the only thing. So being match sharp might be one of the only difficulties,” he said.

Squad: Ajani Burton (captain), Rasheed Johnston (goalkeeper), Richard Harris, Christopher Reid, Tyrone Vernon, Kemar Mitchell, George McGlashen, Daniel Powell, Shemar Gordon, Tuseef Graham.

Reserves: Kevon Reid, Kevaun Reid, Phillip Dawson, Jahchin Mullings, Nickoy Stephenson.

Officials: Head coach – Duvaughn Henlon, Manager – Ebony McLean, Physiotherapist – Yael Jagbir, Doctor – Dr Michelle Holt, assistant coach/manager Kameisha Erskine.