SSFL players compete at Combine, eye scholarships

NEXT Level Performance, in an effort to give youth footballers in TT an opportunity to create a profile for themselves to earn scholarships, held a football combine at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex on Monday and Tuesday.

A combine is not something many TT athletes are familiar with. In the US, a combine is used to help NFL and NBA teams scout university players who have the ability to play professionally.

A combine involves testing the athleticism of players by doing jumping drills and speed drills, including a 40-yard sprint.

On the first day at the Diego Martin Sporting Complex, the players went through drills and on the second day they got the opportunity to play matches against each other. Forty youth players between 16 and 19, both boys and girls, competed at the combine.

Many of them played in the Secondary Schools Football League this season. Some of the schools represented were San Juan North Secondary, Presentation College (San Fernando), Queen's Royal College, Fatima College, Malick Secondary and Holy Name Convent.

Coaches from overseas were the facilitators at the combine, including coaches from the Ribeiro Moojen Pre-University Soccer (RMPUS) programme, a prep school in Montreal, Canada. The combine would give TT footballers the opportunity to earn scholarships overseas. Depending on their age, the TT players, if offered a scholarship, can finish high school or begin university.

Speaking to Newsday, RMPUS coach Freddy Moojen said, "I was able to see a lot of good talent from Trinidad. We have a list of players that we like that we are going to tell the organisers (Next Level about) and they are going to put us in contact with the players to see if they can come next year."

Moojen said RMPUS will talk to the parents of the players they are interested in, with the help of Next Level.

Explaining some of the drills done during the combine, Moojen said, "I saw them going through speed and agility and a test of power as well. Those tests are good, so the coaches can know where the kids are in the fitness side of things, but for me personally, I think the most important part of the combine is to see the players play, so that you see exactly what you are looking for and what type of players you like."

CEO of Next Level Garvin Warwick said, "From the feedback it was the first time 99 per cent of them have done that level of testing."

Warwick said the players' height and weight were measured.

In TT, he said, players will often know what areas they have to improve on in terms of skill and their understanding of football. However, a combine them realise what other areas need work.

"Skill is just one element; the physical attributes and understanding where you need to strengthen – your core, your upper body...those things players need to understand."

Warwick said creating data and videos of players helps local footballers have a profile to show to foreign coaches.

"Our approach is really to collect data and build more comprehensive profiles. The basis and the genesis of Next Level Performance is really to provide an in-depth digital profile of Caribbean, young athletes who are aspiring for sports and athletic scholarships.

"It is data capturing to allow athletes to build their digital profiles to be able to showcase themselves to the wider world for the opportunity to get scholarships."