Commencing on February 23rd, Guyana’s Male Under-20 team will come up against 4 other teams in pursuit of a spot in the CONCACAF Under-20 Championships.
Guyana was drawn in Group B for the competition, alongside the likes of El Salvador, Antigua and Barbuda, Suriname and Turks and Caicos.
Over the past week, hopefuls for the Junior Golden Jaguars have been competing for a spot in the National team that will represent the Land of Many Waters.
Speaking with this newscast at one of those sessions, Under-20 Head Coach Kayode McKinnon shared initial expectations and what he hopes to get out of the young group.
“Fantastic! We got in here and first was to kind of establish the culture that we want within the group. We spoke about trust, that was this cycle that we’re in. Our expectation is to make sure that we build a cohesive group that is a representation of the Guyanese people and the country of Guyana,” the Head Coach related.
The U20 trials boasts a mixture of local and international talents that were invited to show off their skills for the coaching staff. In his assessment of the group, the Head Coach noted that there is an abundance of talent.
Snapshot from the U20 national team trials
McKinnon said about his observations “I think we have talented players, when I speak about talent, we have players who have the creativity, they’re technical but one of the things that even as coaches that needs to be embraced, is the soccer education, the football education. It’s an ongoing process.
“You know, when new ideas come, it takes a time for players to adjust and adapt; but from the perspective of the physicality and the technical proficiency, I think my assessment of that is we’re right there,” he went on to add.
With less than a month to go before the qualifying tournament’s commencement, in how he intends to get the best out of his players, McKinnon lamented adjustment and utilizing strengths as key to their preparation.
Head Coach Kayode McKinnon
“I think one of the things we try to do was, we simplify the principle based on the culture of players that we believe that we have. So, we try to simplify that and make it very clear and make it something, not just what we’re talking about, but what they’re seeing every day. Every practice, we’re very consistent with the terminologies that we’re using to kind of rewire their brain to get that understanding. So, I think that was one of the ways we dealt with it, but time is something that you want more of it,” the Coach divulged.
“Like I said to the boys, it’s important that we play the cards that we’re being dealt, and we don’t worry too much about the excuses. We know we’re a resilient people, we know we’re a fearless people, we have to use what our strengths are and utilize that in our preparation.”
Based on what he’s seen over the past week, the Head Coach revealed that his team is close to deciding on their final squad.
The Head Coach revealed, “We’re right there and we know we don’t have time. So, we as a staff, we had to be really precise about what we’re looking for in this not-so-ideal situation, but we had to set a measurement, we had to set a foundation of what will govern this team, and I think (that) over this week, we’ve been able to see where the players are psychologically, where they are technically, what we can work with from a tactical position and from a technical position.”
After the trial’s conclusion today, the international players will return home, after which the selected players will return for a camp that is set to begin on February 9th and run until the team departs Guyana for the tournament on February 21st. the overseas-based coaches, including Head Coach McKinnon, are expected to leave and return for the camp in February.
Guyana’s group action will go down in Antigua and Barbuda at the ABFA Technical Centre in Piggotts. The U20 CONCACAF Championship Qualifiers will run from February 23rd to March 2nd.
