Parents in love with Junior Cup model

PROUD SMILES and enthusiasm seeped out of the stands at The University of the West Indies (UWI) Mona Bowl as Under-12 and Under-13 teams took to the field in the Youth Football League Junior Cup’s Kingston Regionals yesterday.

Shalando Anderson was one of those who contributed to an atmosphere creaking with the burden of excited parents. He applauded the organisers, Free Your Image Consultancy Group (FYI), for hosting the Junior Cup.

Anderson explained that his son, Shalando Anderson Jr, had been bursting with excitement ever since his team, Benders Football Academy, had registered for the competition.

“Yes man, he was very excited from after six when him come home from training after school. He came to me and said he had a match tomorrow so he was going to go bathe, eat and then go to sleep to get ready. So, from before seven in the morning from the man wake, before he even brushed his teeth, he was calling me to get ready.”

Anderson said he hopes even more teams will be able to take part next season, as he believes competitions like the Junior Cup are important for young players, who often aren’t given the opportunity to play at the grassroots level.

“It’s a lovely event. The only thing I see so far is for more teams to enter, but everything is going well. It’s very important to get more interactions from the kids at home who want to play football. Sports like this bring everybody together, and it’s really important that we come out and watch them.”

That sentiment was echoed by fellow parent, Kerri-Gaye Brown, whose twin sons, Nyle and Tyler Fogarthy, play for Norbrook Strikers.

“I think competitions at the grassroots level allow the children the exposure to learn to play different teams and to continue developing their skills. So I believe these competitions are very helpful to the children.”

Brown’s sons are no strangers to grassroots football, having prior experience at the Junior Cup as well as having already travelled overseas to play in international tournaments.

“They have been playing for Norbrook for over four years and they’ve played locally and internationally. They’ve played at the Target Cup in Minnesota and recently played in December at Tampa Bay and won the Under-13 championship.”

Brown explained that her sons have dreams of pursuing football as a career, and she believes that tournaments like the Junior Cup are very important in their development.

The next stop for the Junior Cup will be the Manchester Regionals on January 20.