Coaches chase Windward Islands Schools Games’ titles

Coaches of the football, male basketball and track and field disciplines of the St Vincent and the Grenadines team to this year’s CBN/ Winlott Inc Windward Islands Schools’ Games are holding their hopes high for better performances,{{more}} when the 2013 edition begins here tomorrow.

Football coach Theon Gordon thinks his charges have what it takes to lift the title, which has eluded them for some time.

“….As a team we are trying to go out there and win the competition – that’s first, but we just don’t want to win the competition, we want to win it by playing our way of football,” Gordon said.

“I am trying to implement a couple of systems, because I prefer them to go into the game prepared, rather than just go and just play… . We are working on some different systems in terms of how we play, how we defend, how we cover the ball and set plays.” Gordon noted.

And, Gordon believes that the current crop has a lot of individual talent.

“In terms of individual players, we have a talented bunch of players…. Expect a lot of good things from the attacking players and I expect the midfielders and defenders to be solid,” Gordon projected.

Gordon cites the attacking department of the team to be its strongest.

Meanwhile, head coach of the male basketball team and assistant coach of the female team Darwin Vanloo is also expecting a good show from his players, despite their height disadvantage.

“Based on what I have seen, we have a team that could put up a pretty good fight. Unfortunately, this year we carried a very small team, as most of the guys are under 6 ft 3ins, which would be a disadvantage to us, as the other teams, such as Dominica, have guys who are 6ft 11 and 6 ft 10; but we are trying to work on a system to counteract that,” Vanloo said.

Basketball has not been a discipline in which St Vincent and the Grenadines has excelled, but Vanloo believes that having the teams compete at the national level helps in getting a better look at the players.

Vanloo believes that the input of coach Donnie Arey of the Kerosene Lamp Foundation with the teams helped immensely in their preparations.

Vanloo also noted that there are six specialist players, with the others coming from the others disciplines.

Meanwhile, track and field coach Alrick Wright is equally hopeful for a good showing from the local athletes, especially as they are on home soil.

“We too are expecting a better showing this time around,” Wright tersely remarked.

However, St Vincent and the Grenadines will have to do without Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Juvenile 13-14 champion, Shaffiqua Maloney, who has been diagnosed with a left hamstring injury.

Reports are that she picked up the injury during the CAC outing in Curacao last month.

Maloney has been advised to rest for four to six weeks.

When the Windward Islands Schools’ Games were staged last year in Grenada, St Vincent and the Grenadines finished third in football, last in male and female basketball and third in track and field. (RT)