HEAD COACH AYANNA RUSSELL

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​In just a little over two weeks, Trinidad and Tobago U17 women will start their quest for world cup qualification.   As we will host Group B Round One Concacaf Qualifiers, with T&T in the same group with the likes of Honduras, Belize, and US Virgin Islands.   Only the six group winners and the two best second placed teams will advance to the final round.    And hoping to guide the T&T women to the promised land is head coach Ayanna Russell, who knows very well what is required.

Transcript

00:00I always wanted to coach. I always said that was one of the areas I felt I was blessed

00:05even from birth. Both my parents were coaches. So even from then, I wanted to be a coach.

00:12And then again, just falling in love with football, playing, and then the coaches that

00:17I had, they inspired me to become a coach.

00:20While her calling was to coach, Ayana Russell started her career as a standout defender

00:24with the National Women's Team. And after falling narrowly short of creating history

00:28herself, as coach, she can now inspire younger players to take that extra step.

00:33We were one point away from qualifying for the World Cup. And when I see the state of

00:37women's football right now, where we can't get past the first round, it is heartbreaking.

00:43So one of the questions that would have been asked to the group is, what can you do to

00:49change women's football? And that is the players, the staff, that's everybody involved, you

00:53know, just to get back that respect that we had in Tonka Calf, in the Caribbean, because

00:58we were number one when I played.

01:01With the roles reversed, coach Russell can now distinguish the similarities between this

01:05group and her 2014 squad.

01:07A lot of people say they remind them of my group, the group that came close to qualifying

01:14for the World Cup, one point away. In some ways, there are some players. And the team

01:21itself, the story itself does remind me, definitely not willing to take that outcome. And I think

01:28with that group, I see some of these similar issues. So that's why we take pride in teamwork.

01:36So this group, as I say, we have some special individuals, but we are pushing teamwork.

01:43And she gave some insight into the characteristics and tactical approach of her national players.

01:48We have a much better foundation now, and that has been the focus. So now we can play,

01:53not possession football. Possession football is probably for Spain and those teams who

01:57have been doing it from the age of three. We play based and we are very athletic,

02:03and a little more sound technically also. So I think that, I don't want to give away too much,

02:10but we have a very simple game model that the girls, as I said, they are really buying into it.

02:15Terence Clark, TV6 Sport.

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