Academy footballers prepare for U-14 tournament
The Academy select team from the Cayman Airways U-15 Youth Cup
(CNS): Fresh from their successful performance at the recent Cayman Airways U-15 Youth Cup, Academy Sports Club’s young footballers are fine-tuning preparations for the Cayman Airways U-14 Youth Cup set for 20-25 June. At the previous tournament, the Academy team received praise for its performance in its group, which included Club Deportivo from Honduras, Major League Soccer youth team Seattle Sounders, and IMG Academy based in Orlando.
Academy drew all of its matches, ending with three points, good for third place in its group.
“We are very proud of the team’s performance,” said U-15 coach Paul Byles. “Competing in these types of events is all part of their development and every player benefits regardless of the actual result of the match. It’s a nice bonus when the results are also impressive when you take into account that we played against professional and semi-professional teams.”
Byles said that the players received a lot of support from the local crowd at all the games and this created a great atmosphere for the team. “What was really nice to see was the crowd showed the true Cayman spirit; there were people from every district, and other local football clubs, cheering on the Academy select players and the team really felt the positive energy,” he said.
“Many of the team who played in the recent tournament were in fact 14 years old so they will also be playing in the June tournament. Other younger Academy players will be playing in the U-14 tournament and will now have the opportunity to gain experience in international competition.
“The average age of our squad will be lower in June because we have added a number of 13 year olds to the team so that they can also benefit from this type of exposure,” the coach said.
Byles added that Academy is ultimately preparing for its annual summer tournament, which this year will be a return to the USA Cup in Blaine, Minnesota.
“Our participation in the June U-14 tournament is a big part of our summer preparations but it is also a unique opportunity for the players to experience exposure against some the top international teams such as Tottenham Hotspur from the UK,” he explained.
This year Academy will be taking four teams to Minnesota with players ranging from 8 to 15 years old. Last year Academy won the U-12 Gold Championships at the USA Cup and the year before were U-13 Silver Champions.
