United States-based former Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Earl "Spiderman" Carter has been appointed new head coach of T&T Pro League club San Juan Jabloteh and will take up the position at month's end.
Carter, 56, was a member of the "Strike Squad", the Trinidad and Tobago senior national team which came within a point of qualifying for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Needing just a draw, T&T lost their final home match 1-0 to the United States.
Back then, Arima United keeper Carter and Defence Force custodian Errol Lovell were back-up to first choice Michael "Brow" Maurice, who played in the USA match.
Carter played for several top local clubs, including ASL, Malvern, Maple and Colts. He also had overseas stints with New York Cosmos, where he played alongside Brazilian Pele, and also had a stint with Suriname's SV Leo Victor.
Carter was awarded the Chaconia Medal Silver in 1989 for his role with the "Strike Squad".
Since hanging up his boots, Carter has been coaching young female footballers in the United States. He founded the Tewksbury Soccer Academy (TSA) Trinidad in 2008.
The initial team to compete under the TSA umbrella were Tewksbury's under-16 girls. During their inaugural season in New Jersey, the girls compiled a 20-13-6 mark, reaching a top-20 ranking in their state.
Among their achievements were a second place finish in the Bazooka College Showcase in Florida, a first place finish in the MSSL Spring Showcase and a first place finish in the JAGS post-season tournament.
TSA Trinidad also defeated the highly-ranked River Dell Blackhawks in the Jersey Shore Champions Cup.
The team was formed to give its players exposure to college coaches and programmes and in 2010 nine TSA players received post-season high school accolades, including two who gained all-state recognition, and all have been receiving attention from college coaches after the team's appearances at the Kirkwood, MSSL and Orange Classic showcases in the past month.