They are the unsung heroines of the 2009 Secondary Schools Football League, but Debe High School’s girls were perhaps the most impressive performers this season.
No other team has matched their unbeaten run as they finished with the clean sweep of zonal and national League and InterCol titles.
And with a star-studded lineup that featured national youth football standouts like captain Mariah Shade, striker Elizabeth Ng Wai, midfielder Kayla Taylor, goalkeeper Linfah Jones and many more, they have gone through 17 matches conceding a solitary goal in back-to-back seasons.
They have hardly been hailed and showered with praises, as have their male counterparts--the St Augustine ’Green Machine’ and El Dorado East Secondary’s ’Blue Thunder.’ But Debe are serious about their game. So much so, that they are getting a head start on next season, according to manager and teacher Clive Ogiste.
’We’re already making plans for next year,’ Ogiste told the Express yesterday. ’You can’t sit and wait on your laurels, because there is always somebody looking to take your title.’
Four years ago, Debe were barely known’if at all’ in schools football. But, as Ogiste explained, this on-going programme has borne fruit over the last few years. In 2007, they did well to reach the Trinidad final of the InterCol. Few knew that for the next two years, they would be unstoppable.
And Debe are not only dependent on their national players. When national duty calls, their bench steps up to the challenge. Their overall dominance, even when missing key players, has surprised many, especially in a zone where girls football has not been a major focus.
’It is a major achievement for the girls. People thought it was a fluke last year, but to do it twice, they are now beginning to believe.’
With all the dominance the traditional schools in the North and East Zones have had, including Providence High School, Malick Secondary and St Augustine Secondary, Debe have ensured theirs will be the name on everyone’s lips for 2010.