Keep U-20 group active, Downswell urges JFF
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Wendell Downswell, coach of the Jamaican Olympic team that was eliminated at the second group stage after losing both games in their Group H tournament in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti, last week, said he will lobby the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) to try and keep the Under-20 team active.
Despite losses to the Bahamas (0-1) and Haiti (1-2) and a bottom-place finish in the group, Downswell, who also guided the national team to a silver medal at the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in July, said he was pleased at how the youngsters acquitted themselves.
Even with the losses, the coach told the Observer that "What was pleasing more than all things was the performance of the present crop of Under-20 players.
"Based on what I've seen here, once we can put these players in a programme and get them ready from now, intensify their preparation, not sit back and wait for two months before the CAC Games, but give them the necessary international exposure and experience, they will do well," he told the Observer minutes after the defeat against Haiti on Saturday.
The Olympic second-round experience was good for the youngsters, Downswell pointed out.
"It's the first time we've had so many members of the Under-20 team in the Olympic set-up; they've made the transition and look quite comfortable at this level."
He said he would recommend to the JFF to "try as best as possible to keep this group active. They are the future of Jamaica's football, they just won the silver medal at the Pan-Am Games and based on what we have seen here, the future is very bright".
Downswell singled out a number of the youngsters - the hard-tackling August Town central defender Ajuran Brown, who started against Haiti on Saturday; Village United's Troy Smith; Reno's Obrian Woodbine; both goalkeepers Duwayne Kerr of Portmore and Dwayne Miller of Harbour View; and midfielder Ricardo Cousins of Portmore - who captained the team in Brazil - as well as the speedy Eric Vernon, also of Portmore.
He said while Meadhaven's Keammar Daley did not see much action in Haiti, his potential was well known, the same as Glenmuir captain James Thomas and Cornwall College's Edward Campbell, both of whom were not selected for the trip.
"When you look we have a good crop of youngsters right now," Downswell said. "We must invest in them and I think if we get them in a structured programme at an early stage, giving them the necessary experience and exposure, they will make us proud.
"They've done that at the Pan Am Games and it's unfortunate we did not get past this stage, which will be a big setback for our youth programme, but we can't stop here," he said.