(CNS): Despite some cold weather fronts coming in off the Irish Sea and nearby Welsh mountains which took a little adjusting to by Cayman’s young footballers the Welsh Super Cup football competition in Aberystwyth, Wales in the UK was a great success said the Executive Committee of Cayman Athletic Sports Club.
Cayman’s future soccer stars were able to attend the event this past July due to the help of local attorney Stuart Walker Hersant the Cayman Islands Government and a number of other sponsors to who the club, players and parents extended a big thank you. According to the committee the weather did improve as the weeks football proceeded and despite a number of disadvantages found in some of the age groupings of the competition together with limited practicing on a team level prior to the event Cayman’s players entered the football fray with determination.
Altogether 122 teams of various age groups took part in the tournament, with teams coming from as far as Australia meeting each other on 20 superb grass playing fields, refereed by as many as 90 officials. Our 14 and under group of which a number had not long turned 13 years of age, were caught by this particular tournaments age grouping requirements and found themselves up against very disciplined and physically aggressive teams (some with recognized academy type training) who were able to count on more of their players averaging a year older and having the physique to prove it.
Nevertheless, said the committee our team competed strongly and most of the games were very close end to end games with the boys learning a lot about how the professional game is played.
“Our Under 13’s playing for the first time in an 8 per side tournament (with its peculiar set of rules) weren’t actually a team at all prior to the event, but players within our overall group who were caught by the same age group limitations as the older players and asked to make up a team. Surprisingly, this makeshift team did very well managing to come away with runners up medals in the Welsh Champions League Cup which placed them approx third in the overall groupings for that age group,” the committee stated.
The committee said that the Under 10’s were perhaps the most exciting discovery of the tournament who despite not fully understanding the differences in playing 8 per side football gave no quarter in their quest to excel at the competition and despite making a number of early costly mistakes in each game through competition inexperience –which to a large part cost them the coveted Super Cup, managed to come through grueling competition to win the Welsh Super Shield, a magnificent achievement given the quality of the competition.
“In addition many friends and contacts were made at the tournament which will be invaluable to the Club and our community over the years ahead,” the club said. “t is therefore evident to the management, coaches and parents of the club that attending these types of events far from home are invaluable in providing for the immediate and long term development of youth football in the Cayman Islands generally, and we sincerely thank our sponsors and everyone involved.”
