Head Coach of the National Senior Women’s Team, commonly known as the “Lady Jags”, Dr Ivan Joseph said the team were ready for their first match of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) Women’s Challenge Series against Grenada scheduled for the Ato Bolton Stadium today from 16:00h.
Dr Joseph pointed out that even though the team were ready, the focus would be on identifying the tactical and technical aspects of the players. He revealed this in an interview following the team’s almost hour-long first technical session held on the lawns of the team’s hotel Tuesday in Trinidad and Tobago as they prepared for the first of three matches in the series.
The local contingent was in constant training sessions ahead of the tournament
According to Dr Joseph, as the “Lady Jags” rebuild, the focus of the tournament is on development: “I’m really concerned with whether our players can execute the established systems. The outcome and the results of that game are irrelevant. Does our right back stay wide? Does our centre back hold the centre of the park? Does our goalkeeper collect the balls in the air? Does our team have speed that I don’t know of? Are the players fitter than I thought? Those are the things that I’m looking to really find out and no matter the opponent, I’ll be able to draw those conclusions at the end of the game or, at least, be a long way towards finding those answers.”
Meanwhile, Guyana Football Federation (GFF) Technical Director Ian Greenwood said he was pleased that the priority areas of the women’s national programme were being achieved: “The GFF has established key performance indicators for the women’s national team, including integration of the new staff structure (international and Guyana).”
While no physical training session was conducted on the first day of the team’s arrival, there were player and technical staff familiarisation group sessions and an excellent large group team bonding session, the first step to building a strong and competitive team.
The “Lady Jags” arrived in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday and will play two other matches of the tournament against Suriname on April 27 and hosts Trinidad and Tobago two days after.
