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  • 2 days ago
T&T’s women’s U17 squad to take part in the Concacaf Under-17 Women’s Qualifiers has been named.

T&T will kick off their campaign against the host Curacao in Group where they will also face off against Barbados, Guadeloupe and favourites El Salvador.

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00:00Well, we put the spotlight on our young female warriors now as the TNT Women's Under-17 Squad
00:05that take part in the CONCACAF Under-17 Women's Qualifiers has been named.
00:09TNT will kick off their campaign against the host Curacao,
00:13where they will also face off against Barbados, Guadalupe and favorites El Salvador.
00:17The six group winners and the two best second-place finishers will advance to the final round.
00:22And the TNT squad returned six players from last year's campaign
00:26with the likes of Alexia Doland, Jessica Nesbitt, Hakeema Goodridge, Rory Gittins, Zayisha Potts and Sani Wilson.
00:33They will team up with nine foreign-based players, primarily from clubs in the US and Canada, and one from the UK.
00:40However, head coach Ayanna Russell was hard-pressed to say whether this squad is better than last year's.
00:47In terms of better, I wouldn't really say better.
00:50Some of the players who would have played last year or didn't play much, but was in the squad,
00:58so they got that experience.
01:00As I said, we have nine foreigners coming in, so I would have liked to have them together a bit more
01:05because they are very, very competitive.
01:09But in terms of better, in terms of the local group,
01:12we had to do a lot of work technically and principles of the game and all of that.
01:18So I wouldn't really say better or worse.
01:21It's just different groups also.
01:23Coach Russell took last year's squad to the final round of CONCACAF World Cup qualifying.
01:27However, they lost all three matches against the United States, El Salvador and Honduras.
01:33But this time around, she's been equipped with a crucial addition to her preparations.
01:37So I brought in Dr. Boudram and the player wellness department to assist me in that regard
01:44because coaching is not just on the field.
01:47So in terms of the mental preparation, we did a couple of sessions with them.
01:51And as I said, hopefully we get through with the camp
01:54because they were supposed to come back in on Tuesday to do one more session with us.
01:59But the mental preparation is very important, especially as females
02:03because sometimes we're just a checkbox, you know.
02:06While she's focused on the mental strength of her players,
02:09the former TNT defender said her biggest challenge was getting the players
02:13to commit to their personal development.
02:15All they want to do is play.
02:17They don't want to do the mental part.
02:19They don't want to do the nutrition and all these different things.
02:21But all these factors play into, you know, becoming an elite player.
02:25So as I say, for me, I would say, you know,
02:29they have improved tremendously technically, tactically.
02:31But that side of getting them to understand that if you don't take this step,
02:37you're not going to get to the next level.
02:39That is something I saw a big improvement in.
02:42The hope is that all this development work will be translated on the field of play
02:46as she indicated the technical characteristics of the squad.
02:50Almost everybody, as I say, could put on the ball and play.
02:54But I won't say we're a possession team.
02:57We have certain things that we do in different areas of the pitch, right?
03:01So it's just about getting them to understand their rules and objectives on the pitch.
03:05And certain areas, we have, you know, strict things that we want to do.
03:09And then certain areas, you know, we give them that free range.
03:12But definitely, I'll see, they're not just going to try and kick the ball away.
03:17As I say, we have certain things that we want to do in different areas of the pitch.
03:21And it's a very exciting one.
03:22Terence Clark, TV6 Sport.
03:25All right.
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