Mills satisfied with successful conclusion of VMFA year-end tournament

Budding footballers as young as 3 years old enjoyed the thrills of competitive games last weekend, when the Vurlon Mills Football Academy (VMFA) hosted its closing activity for the year 2024. The event saw mini competitions in 5 age groups, namely under-6, under-8, under-10, under-12 and under-14.

Speaking with Guyana Times Sport, former Golden Jaguar and Founder of the VMFA, Vurlon Mills, explained what the Academy was trying to achieve through its most recent activity, the success of which he highlighted.
“We planned this day so that the kids could come out, have fun, play a mini tournament, enjoy themselves, and I think that we achieved that today. Parents came out in full numbers. We had teams all the way from Linden participating in this final day of activity, and it was fantastic. I think everyone left satisfied,” Mills said in an invited comment.
Though the event took on a competition format, Mills explained how the young players were kept encouraged in the name of continued development. The VMFA Founder explained, “There wasn’t a kid here today that didn’t receive a medal. The words from the coaches were encouraging, because our aim at the Academy is for continued development; so, win or lose, our job is development. So, if you heard the words from the coach, it was rewarding, it was exciting, it was encouragement for the kids.”
Asked whether he thought the activity helped the Academy’s instructors to assess the year’s work, Mills responded in the affirmative.
“Off the bat, what I’ve noticed from our teams is the way that they were able to play. I don’t want to say tactically, but they were able to keep shape and play with strategy. We had three teams in each age group, (and) because the Academy is so big, we’re overwhelmed with numbers in each age- group. So, we had to divide our groups, and it was amazing to see how the teams were able to put together passes. They were able to score goals, compete, and be resilient.”
The former Golden Jaguars International went on to add, “Even when they went down, they fought. They continued to play as a team, and, you know, they supported each other; and that is a reflection of what the Academy represents and what we want. Even though there is a loss, there should be a positive based on the objective of that particular game or activity, and today it was fantastic.”
In the highly contested under-14 division, VMFA Giants took the gold while VMFA Hawks and Fruta Conquerors football club were second and third. VMFA Legends won the U12 category, with Linden’s Dainty Academy and St. Gabriel’s Primary as the runners-up; while VMFA Toucans won the U10 category followed by Rockets and Kellog’s.