This is serious business

COACH of the TT Under-17 boys and girls teams, Jeff Passwater, is telling his players that the Pan American Youth Water Polo Championships is a step above other competitions, reminding them they will have to be at their best to finish among the top.

The 2019 edition of the Pan American Youth Water Polo Championships will be held here in TT, at the National Aquatic Centre in Balmain, Couva, from August 14-24. The championships are a qualification tournament for the fifth FINA Youth Water Polo World Championships to be held in 2020.

The United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Peru, Bahamas, along with TT will compete in the Under-17 boys category, while US, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Peru and TT will participate in the Under-17 girls division. Both TT teams must finish in the top four of their respective categories to qualify for the 2020 World Championships. To guarantee a top four finish the TT boys must win at least three matches and the girls must win two.

This would be the third major international water polo championship to be hosted by TT, following the 2017 UANA Cup and the 2017 Central American and Caribbean Amateur Swimming Confederation (CCCAN) Championships.

Passwater said, “The athletes are working very diligently trying to get ready. They understand the seriousness and the level of this tournament and they’re working as hard as they can to get ready for it.”

TT have achieved success in recent years at a number of regional meets including at CCCAN and at Carifta. Most recently, the TT Under-15 boys team won gold at the 2019 CCCAN Championships in Barbados, in early July.

The TT coach said he holds conversations on a regular basis with his players about the quality teams TT will face at the Pan Am Championships. “That is something that I mention every single day to both teams – how serious the teams are that coming down from the US, Canada, Brazil, Colombia, Peru (and) Argentina. All of these guys want all of the very same things that we want and they’re training just as hard, so I remind them of the seriousness of it every day.”

Nathan Hinds, Christian Chin Lee and David Agard, who were all part of the TT Under-15 boys team that won at CCCAN in Barbados, have been included on the Under-17 Pan Am squad.

Passwater said more of the Under-15 boys had a chance to make the Under-17, but decided to select the more seasoned campaigners.

“There were a few more that we were considering, but just at the last minute we decided to go with a little more experience.”

The TT coach said the Under-17 girls are a youthful bunch and most of the current team will be eligible to play in two years.

“We are little bit young, but I think that is going to end up being a good thing in the long run because a lot of these girls are still going to be eligible for the next Junior Pan Am Games in 2021. They’re going to be able to have all the experience that year that they are gaining this year, but they still have a very legitimate chance to make it to World Championships with this group.”

Some of the girls Passwater expects to lead from the front are Victoria Gillette, Breanne Jordan and Tahira Beepat.