Hundreds of young budding footballers in T&T, boys and girls, have improved their chances of making it to their school, club or the national team after their involvement in Gally’s Football Finishing School (GFFS), put on by former national coach Everald ‘Gally’ Cummings and designed to create well-rounded individuals through the sport of football.
The programme, supported by the blink | bmobile Foundation, was held during the August holidays, starting with approximately 60 young players at St Mary’s College Grounds in July and making keys stops at the Eddie Hart Grounds in Tacarigua, Lange Park Recreation Ground in Chaguanas and Guaracara Park, Pointe-à-Pierre where participants received certificates of participation.
TSTT’s Chief Marketing Officer Camille Campbell praised Gally for the work he has done, noting his initiative is synonymous with her Company’s goal to assist in the development of our young people and thereby guiding them in the right direction for the future. She said it was because of this similarity that her Company grasped at the opportunity to support, and further explained that through the avenues of sport, culture, education and health, the blink | bmobile Foundation will continue to seek to chart the way forward for our youth.
At Guaracara Park, the players between the ages 7-16 years were put through basic goal-scoring drills before being asked to put that training into practice, in game situations. Participants at the clinics were exposed to the fundamentals of the game by a number of former national players turn coaches, including Ron La Forest, Selris Figaro, Curtis Orr, Michael Grayson, George Romano and Allister Ramdoo, and received words of advice from former football greats Brian Williams, Shaka Hislop and Sammy Llewellyn among many others.
Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs Darryl Smith made an appearance on the opening day at Serpentine Road, St Clair having represented St Mary’s College, under Gally’s coaching in 1991, and advised players to use the opportunity wisely and find a blend between the sport and academics.
Gally said the academy was confirmation of the enormous talent that exists in T&T that should be nurtured and put to use in making the country proud. He said the clinic has been a tremendous success, but GFFS directors must now decide on the way forward, having received numerous requests for his coaching in other Caribbean islands.
“I have also been working on forming partnerships with the New York Cosmos, the Club I played for in the US, and Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz, the Club I represented in Mexico, to take the clinic international, but before that we have to conduct a session in the sister-isle of Tobago, as we also have a request from them as well.” Gally said.
Before the distribution of certificates, little Maya Wong, a 12 year old who attends St Peters Private School in San Fernando said the clinic has been a huge help for her as a striker. “I have been learning how to score goals better and it will help me when I am playing for my school. I particularly like the game situations at the camp because I received so much more experience playing” Wong said.
Another young player Ronaldo Adolphus, named after the famous Brazilian footballer ‘Ronaldo’, said he is using the training at the clinic to enable him to make his school team at East Mucurapo in the new school term. “I think Gally is a very good coach and from him I have already seen improvements in my game. I am a utility player but I like playing in the midfield more” Adolphus said.