‘Get the principals on board’

PAULA PINNOCK, managing director of the Youth Football League (YFL) Junior Cup Under-11 competition, said the Kingston and St Andrew regions level of development is far more advanced than other regions.

She expressed this during the second week of the Youth Football League (YFL) Under-11 Junior Cup, which took place at the Cornwall College playing field on Saturday.

“The truth is Kingston and St Andrew is a lot more advanced than some of the other regions. From our tournament and from our experience, we see way more activity in Manchester in comparison to Montego Bay. I think Montego Bay is still finding its way back post COVID, especially at the youth level. We see a lot happening at the senior level,” Pinnock explained.

According to Pinnock, the grassroots level in Montego Bay is still in the development stage and is reorganising itself.

She mentioned that Montego Bay’s region needs the most attention, but that there are challenges.

“Jamaica Independent School Association (JISA) tournaments do not execute in Montego Bay. They do in Kingston, and Manchester and etcetera. We continue to try and execute here in MoBay. It does pose a little more challenge than the other regions.

In this year’s (YFL) Junior Cup Under-11 competition, eight teams from western Jamaica registered, in comparison to the 16 from the eastern region. There were seven primary schools and Montego Bay Preparatory as the lone prep school in the region.

The managing director believes that there needs to be a synergy between coaches and principals in regard to the development of sports and student athletes.

“There seems to be a disconnect between the coaches’ and principals’ agenda. The principals are focused on schoolwork and PEP exams, whereas the coaches want to get more involved in sports.”

She continued, “There is tonnes of research on the development of the student athletes that support that. I think it’s for us, especially in this region, to get the principals on board.”

The YFL Under-11 Junior Cup started in 2022. A version was done in 2013 and 2014 with major sponsorship. Those two years, over 700 students participated.

The Junior Football League, the Junior Cup, in particular, has a lack of major sponsors that could assist more schools, according to Pinnock.

“With a major sponsor, you can assist the schools in participating by waiving registration fees and transportation.”

In the meantime, Pinnock said teams with bigger support in the competition tend to do better.

“The parental support from MoBay Prep is certainly bigger than any other school here today. We love to see that and encourage family members to come out and support the kids. It makes a difference in how they play, and they feel supported.

“Howard Cooke and Corinaldi, who are past champions and regional champions, tend to have bigger team support, and you see that they do better. The schools in Kingston and Manchester, their programmes actually do better,” she added.

Howard Cooke Primary, Granville Primary, Port Antonio Primary, and Corinaldi Avenue Primary from the competition in Montego Bay advanced to the YFL all-island finals.

The competition will head to Manchester for the central regionals at the Kirkvine Sports Complex on October 12 before returning to Kingston for the all-island finals on October 19.