Strangely enough, the enthusiasm which precedes a World Cup tournament, especially when one’s country is actually involved, has not begun here, although the team of young women are being taken through their paces for the past few months.
The Norwegian-born Even Pellerud had accepted the responsibility of turning this inexperienced and immature squad into proper shape by the time the September tournament kicks off in Trinidad and Tobago. The few friendly matches which were played at home and abroad by the squad, have been described by the coaching staff as encouraging and productive, when compared with their original starting point.
Admittedly, I have not been following the progress of this team in as diligent a manner as I would normally do with our national soccer teams, and this is by design.
The reputation of Mr Pellerud following his absolute success in women soccer over the past decade, is well known. I have had the opportunity to see both Norway and Canada perform under his guidance and felt that he should be given some space to make an impact upon the young ladies, all of whom are new to him.
My second reason stems from the fact that the development of our women footballers, is vastly different from those of the more developed countries, physically, technically, and socially. A close defeat by Mexico and a draw against Canada will have reflected some level of progress when compared to previous meetings with these same teams, and the results offered a positive jump forward psychologically to the girls.
The search on the international market, especially North America, was seen as one of the ways to close the gap faster than normal.
The migration process over the past three decades will have recorded many children born of Trinidad and Tobago parentage in the USA and Canada, and growing up in these countries will be seen as vital for obtaining young soccer females, whose background will have been in keeping with the maturity of kids with a lifestyle based upon the early introduction of gaining an athletic gait, a competitive mentality, and ideal dietary base.
By now, the goodly Norwegian may have realised that the local girls need to be drilled into a more rigid form of physical preparation, which together with their natural skills, can enhance their overall performances and reach closer to the quality of play which we all expect when the World U-17 finals take place here.
The recent trip to South Korea seemed to have brought some disappointment by the fans who tended to take every result seriously and almost viewed them as though it was a reflection of the game next September.
My view is slightly different, if only because the weeks leading up to the finals will not be planned in quite the same way as travelling to Korea and having to battle with a dozen hours in time change, a different diet, and three matches in quick succession.
It was easy to analyse the result of the first match where the girls will have been anxious to make a great impact by going all out against the odds mentioned above. It worked and the team had a victory, much to the satisfaction of us all.
But, with the body metabolism undergoing drastic changes and training sessions occurring daily, physical fatigue could well have taken its toll, catapulted their confidence and reduced their game speed against the regimented Koreans, a group whose main strengths are exceptional endurance and organised system of play.
The third match was again indicative of less effectiveness by our girls whose opponents were anxious to send the message to the Concacaf teams that they are ready for the tournament.
Nevertheless, many lessons were learnt and the most important being the huge gap between our readiness and their opponents.
I have every reason to believe that coach Pellerud will find some form of methodology in formulating an adjusted approach whereby the shortcomings can be addressed, allowing the people of this country to understand the value of long term preparation in the same way that our recent youth men’s squads had benefited.
Can I humbly suggest that we give this group time to reach the required standard. Its not easy, but can be achieved with hard work.