U13 is most important level of development – Mills

The Guyana Football Federation’s Tiger Rentals- sponsored Under-13 Developmental League will soon be heading into the one- month mark since it’s kickoff. And in that time, coaches have spoken openly about the abundance of talent on show.
Joining the brigade is renowned Coach Vurlon Mills, who is steering the Georgetown Academy Training Center (ATC) team in the competition. In a recent interview with Guyana Times Sport, Mills spoke of the skills he has witnessed thus far.
“Even though I’m coaching Georgetown, I think some of the better players are from the outer regions. All teams that I’ve seen so far in the tournament, we can select 3-4 players who can be part of a National Under-14 pool,” Mills related to this publication. “I can see a really good level of competition. I can see tremendous improvements, game after game from the teams. We can see inclusion of the players because, even though the Academy teams might already be selected, it might not be the best team throughout Guyana or the best players throughout Guyana.”
The Coach further stated, “So, what the coaches are doing every week, we are trying to identify those talents who can be part of the Academy teams and can be part of these game, so that we can have the best players in the national pool.”
When quizzed, Mills went on to explain that the Under-13 level may be the most important one to tackle with regard to Guyana’s football development. The Youth Coach opined, “I think this is the most important development level, for me. Because this is an age group where players start transitioning, where they start identifying a position where they want to play, where they really mature as a player and play competitive in games.
“For a long time, I’ve been having this conversation with coaches who are in football development; and, you know, this is a level that we need to see more of. I think we struggle a lot with under-13 and under-11 football, and this is a level we really need to focus to really start developing,” he added.
As such, Coach Mills has voiced his opinion that for Guyana to be successful on the regional and international stage in years to come, the Under-13 group is crucial.
“I really think for us to have a real chance at being a powerhouse in the world, in the Caribbean, in CONCACAF, we really need to start at this level. For us to make the World Cup, for me, this is my opinion, I think at an Under-13, an Under-15 level, this is the level we need to start at, and build as the years go by,” Mills commented.
The Tiger Rentals U13 league will continue this Saturday at the GFF’s National Training Center (NTC)at Providence. (Jemima Holmes)