Coaching staff impressed with local-based Boyz
Published:Saturday | February 3, 2024 | 12:08 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
Assistant coach of the Reggae Boyz, Merron Gordon, said the coaching staff has been very impressed with how quickly the local-based players are adapting to the new concepts after they engaged Clarendon Premier League teams Vere United and Humble Lion in two practice matches at Glenmuir High on Wednesday.
The part-time domestic camp at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence started two weeks ago and will run for the next few weeks and culminate with a two-match friendly series against Trinidad and Tobago in Trinidad in March.
The players train twice a week (Wednesdays and Thursdays), and play practice games following each week of training, to show how much they are absorbing the new information, and Gordon had high praise for the group after Wednesday’s 2-0 win over Vere and 1-0 victory over Humble Lion.
“The players are doing really well. They have been trying and the coach has been very impressed with how they are processing the information. The plan is for us to have two-day camps every week and the following week have a midweek practice game.
“On Wednesday, we had a practice game to see if they could execute what we had done the week before and they are grasping it very well,” he said.
“We have seen improvement in all of them. The players are being well coached (at their clubs). Although this is a different, I think all of them are grasping what we want to achieve. So everything was pleasing, as the objective was to see if they grasped what we have taught them.”
In the first game against Vere United, Molynes United striker Jason Wright and Mount Pleasant midfielder Romeo Guthrie were the scorers for the Reggae Boyz in their 2-0 win.
In the second match, Kaheim Dixon, the outstanding schoolboy player of the just concluded season, netted the lone goal in a 1-0 win over Humble Lion.
Gordon revealed also that the head coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, intends to play more of these games across the parishes not only to see how the players are progressing, but also to take a close up look at players they have on the radar or to identify new talent.
“What the coach did the day before the game is meet with administrators and the coaches of the parish we are scheduled to play in.
“He explained our journey so far and our plans going into 2026. For parishes that do not have Premier League teams, we are thinking of an all star (parish) team just to keep the ball rolling.
“Wednesday was also an opportunity to see if Vere or Humble Lion had any players to look at. We have been watching them (teams), the entire (Jamaica Premier) league but a close-up look is always better,” Gordon said.