Promising young soccer stars to train with Chelsea FC

(CNS): A coach for the footballing giant Chelsea FC, had great things to say about Cayman’s young players following a soccer clinic which took place in Cayman last week. The senior international development officer for the Chelsea FC Foundation, David Monk, praised the high quality of footballing talent he saw at the Kick Start Clinics sponsored by Digicel and held at the Truman Bodden Sports Complex. Zachary Scott, Tevin Crawford and Kameron D’hue were the three youngsters picked to go to the Digicel Academy in October which takes place in Barbados where they will train with coaches from the famous football club.

“With our visit being the first of its kind to Cayman, we were excited to see exactly what these Caymanian players had to offer,” said Monk. “After day one, we concluded that the attitude and professionalism demonstrated by these young men was admirable, this partnered with a high ability level means that we must adopt high expectations for our next visit.”

The Cayman Islands was the fourth stop on the 14 country tour which will see Monk and his team of coaches training the Caribbean and Central American region’s best young players. This was the first year the Cayman Islands took part in the clinics which included increased training time with the boys as well as an under-16 girls training session.

On Thursday, 15 May the first three players to represent the Cayman Islands at the academy later this year were selected. Scott, Crawford and D’hue were picked from thirty of the top local players while  Jiffon Robinson was selected as the ‘Wild Card’ and dubbed fastest footballer in the Cayman Islands.

There will be a wild card player selected from each of the 14 participating countries and three of those will go on to attend the Digicel Academy by winning a spot based on fan votes and Digicel Cayman promises to promote the initiative heavily when voting opens in July to get Jiffon on his way.

Minister of Health, Sports, Youth and Culture Osbourne Bodden said bringing Chelsea FC to Cayman for the first time had boosted the profile of the camp. “I'm hoping that the three Chelsea coaches will have a major impact on our youngsters, male and female, and also on our local coaches. Chelsea is one of the world's largest clubs in the world and they have a lot to share. I'm hoping this will become a permanent fixture on our sporting calendar,” he said.

Meanwhile, local Digicel boss Raul Nicholson-Coe explained whatthe football camps were all about.

“The Digicel Kick Start Clinics provide the ideal vehicle to ensure that the kids with the athletic abilities are provided with a platform to showcase their skills and to be given opportunities to develop not only their athletic abilities, but to also be given the necessary life skills related to commitment and professionalism that will allow them to be successful in whatever career path that they chose,” he said.

The Digicel Kick Start Clinics provide thousands of aspiring young footballers from across 14 countries in the region to try out for their chance to travel to the Digicel Academy in Barbados and train under top coaches from Barclays Premier League side, Chelsea FC. For more information please visit www.digicelfootball.com