The Reggae Boyz Forum: Speech by Crenston Boxhill at "Salute the Boyz"

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#72392 - 08/04/07 04:21 AM

Speech by Crenston Boxhill at "Salute the Boyz"

Jagga
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Please see attached, speech delivered by President Crenston Boxhill at "Salute the Boyz" - Congratulatory Luncheon for the National U-20 Team.

Jamaica’s Successful 2007 Pan Am Games National U-20 men’s Football Team “A vision becoming a reality”

Ladies and gentlemen:
At some point in the implementation of a strategy or programme, one is able to determine its true character and its essence.

I am of the unreserved opinion that the team that we pay tribute to today and its accomplishments is a true manifestation of the vision and programme that has characterised and driven my administration.

And for that I am well pleased.

What has been this vision? Simply put …….. Ladies and gentlemen, the only way to create a successful football programme with lasting benefits, is through a structured policy of exposure and development starting from the under 13 (or lower) and promoting the nurturing and transition of players through all age units to the national senior teams.
This vision aims to cater to Jamaican players regardless of gender or origin.

Recently we have correctly itemised the historic achievements of this team. It is indeed worth repeating for us to fully penetrate its significance.

The team became the first Jamaican team to defeat world beaters Argentina at any level of our football

The team became the first Jamaican football team to reach the semi-finals or finals of the Pan Am games

The team became the first Jamaican football team to reach the semi –finals and finals of an international tournament

This was the first Jamaican team sport to win a medal at the Pan Am Games. Before this Jamaica had won 104 medals, all at the individual level

The team became the first Caribbean football team to reach the finals of the Pan American games in twenty eight years

The team had the leading goal scorer in the tournament. This is a tournament that includes players from Mexico, the USA, Brazil and Argentina.

This team won four matches on a trot, a feat hardly ever achieved by any Jamaican or Caribbean team neither regularly nor irregularly

And ladies and gentlemen, this team of young players achieved this all away from home, including playing at the infamous sometimes intimidating, Maracana stadium with its 100,000 spectator capacity.

This team followed on the heels of the Jamaican national U-17 team who in May of this year defeated the United States of America becoming the first Jamaican team to defeat the USA in an international tournament.

That same youth team in February of this year defeated Mexico, again the very first time a Jamaican team was defeating Mexico at this level.

Ladies and gentlemen, what has unfolded over these past months is no fluke, it is no co-incidence nor is it good luck.

These performances are the result of a very conscious and directed policy that has had youth development at the center of its decisions and strategy. In fact I would say that the only factor that has limited greater success in our youth development thrust has been resource and financial constraints. It certainly has not been any confusion about what will lead to a successful programme.

How do we know that it is as a result of policy? I can say that every time an opportunity has arisen for a team to travel, for Jamaica to participate in a tournament, we have always sought to expose local, young talent. Our two major objectives have been….doing well and exposing our young talent.

In fact I would go so far as to say that the policies pursued by the administration have represented the most consistent attention to developing local young talent ever witnessed in Jamaica’s football programme.

We made the first shift in 2005 after the exit from the world cup qualifications and we did have the skeptics. We have seen Luton Shelton, Damion Stewart and others rise to that occasion.

It was also in 2005 that we developed the road to South Korea plan. Our youth scouts traveled the length and breadth of Jamaica, identified the best of our under 15 talent. They went to Trinidad, won the Caribbean under 15 championship.

We kept them together for close to two years at an approximate cost of fifteen million dollars. They came within one game of qualifying for the U-17 World Cup and the nation and I were furious.

The federation quickly assessed what had gone wrong but please recall that in the midst of the disappointment, I stated emphatically that………. The level of investment and the preparation techniques would pay off if the team members got further opportunities to play.

Ladies and gentlemen, when the Pan Am authorities changed the age limit for the Pan Am Games from twenty three to twenty years, the first opportunity came and again we did not miss it.

The coaching staff included three of those players in this pan am squad and the rest is history.

Even more, a deeper analysis of the eighteen man squad that is assembled here will reveal only one debutante.

Seventeen members had a fair amount of international experience. Seventeen of these players had been through the ranks of our under 15; under 17 and under 20 programmes.

Critical also in all of this has been our decision to put at the helm of the scouting and preparation, two of Jamaica’s most experienced and indeed successful youth coaches, Wendell Downswell and Jackie Walters.

Nothing can replace the knowledge they have of the performances of the players over the years through the different units.

Despite our acknowledged progress, I do recognise that we have not achieved the ultimate in world cup qualification at any of the age group levels. I recognise how important it is to the Jamaican people and how it is used as a benchmark of true success.

I share that view too and I have that dream too. We however want it to be real success, a reflection of definite progress in the programme.

We are all too reminded that despite our proud qualification to the 1999 and 2001 age group world cup, by 2004 we were only able to find five players from those two squads for our 2004 Olympic team.

Even more startling, is the reality that six and eight years since qualification at those youth world cups, we can only identify two, yes, two players who are currently part of our senior world cup team (one being re-called by coach Bora recently) it is precisely now that they should be blossoming at the senior level.

What has therefore characterised the difference is that youth development has been the center of our decisions.

The result ladies and gentlemen is that we have a squad before us averaging nineteen years old which includes two players with 50 and 60 international caps.

Many of us forget that goal keeper Dwayne Kerr was on the squad when the team played England in that historic tour. There is nothing to replace the exposure we have sought to give. You do not always have to play. But you must learn.

Another unique element of our youth thrust has been that it has not been gender based. In 2006 Jamaica’s U-20 Women’s team went the furthest of any Caribbean women’s team in history of CONCACAF

At the very pan am games which we discuss today, we had a Jamaican women’s football team, the first ever in our history.

Ladies and gentlemen, when I say that it is only financial constraints that have limited more progress, I wish you to travel with me just over the last seven months and look to the next two months.

February 2007 we hosted Mexico and the USA as part of the preparation plans for our national under 17 team

April, two months later, we hosted the qualifiers at an announced cost of fifteen million dollars

July, we had to prepare this same team for the pan am games

July, we also had to prepare the senior Women’s team for the pan am games.

July our under 20 women participated in world cup qualifiers in Bahamas coming out topping the zone.

August, two weeks from today our national U-15 team will have to participate in the CFU U-15 tournament in Trinidad

August, the very important JFF under 13 competition will be held throughout the confederations.

August we continue preparations for the Olympic qualifiers in September. We see Jamaica’s participation in the 2008 Olympics as a vital stage in our programme

Right after we will be fielding our first ever U-17 Women’s team for the CFU U-17 Women’s Tournament

Ladies and gentlemen, many of these youth competitions are not sponsored. I am however confident that the success of this team and the revelation of what led to their success will attract more sponsorship to youth football.

In the midst of this all ladies and gentlemen, we have the ultimate, the 2010 world cup to qualify for.

Preparation I will remind you is not just the local camps, its international camps and indeed international games.

The administration has been criticised many a time for insufficient preparation. I hope you are somewhat clearer now on the demands that make the preparation sometimes challenging.

I assure you ladies and gentlemen, any other way will bring misery and frustration.

I would be the first to admit that much more needs to be done. The infrastructure, the management and the coaching at all levels needs major improvement. Even more needs to be done on our retention levels, but what I can also assure you is that what we saw from this team is a great start of a vision beginning to come true.

One small point; what I found also admirable about the team’s performance was their sense of confidence. Amongst a sea of Mexicans, Argentineans, Brazilians and Colombians, no obvious sign of intimidation and this was cemented by Coach Downswell’s report that the team did better each game they played.

Despite playing so well and making us feel so proud, we did not even see a smile of joy as they collected their medals. They were hurt that they had not received the gold for Jamaica and themselves. I even saw tears.

Ladies and gentlemen, these are the footballers of our future. This is why we work so hard.

Please salute them once again.

A quick word on what’s next for this team, as many have asked, when Coach Bora took a U-23 team to play for the Lunar Cup in February, it was part of his vision that they would have been the core of the Olympic squad on their way to being part of the 2010 World Cup squad.

The change of the age group category for the pan am games and the subsequent exposure received by these players, means that the coaching staff has the dream of any coaching unit, a wider pool from which to assemble the best Olympic squad, the original group plus this group of players.

In fact Coach Downswell has already whispered, coach can I whisper aloud? He told me that that squad of 18 for the Olympics could very well include 50% of these players.

Ladies and gentlemen, you are looking at a president of the Jamaica Football Federation who is extremely pleased and delighted. I said at the beginning it is a great start to a vision becoming a reality.

This aspect of the journey just completed would not have been as pleasant without the tremendous and I repeat tremendous support of the officials of the Jamaica Olympic Association and its president, Mr. Michael fennel. The quality of organisation, preparation, consultation that was given over a period of time was unequalled.

We received tremendous support and I have no doubt that this played a very big role in the team’s success. Thank you Mr. Fennel

Even further thanks to our sponsors, the JUTC, Petrojam for the very important provision of transportation; Digicel, our official mobile provider; the Sport Devlopment Foundation; Grace Foods for nutritional support; WATA for refreshments just to name some.

Finally my personal thanks to Coach Downswell and the technical staff for a job well done.

Ladies and gentlemen, the stage is now set. I call on all Jamaica, sponsors from the public and private sectors, football administrators, coaches, football fans, journalists to support our efforts in building football from the bottom up.