Gateway Athletics football showcase kicks off at UTT

Trinidad and Tobago youth players Josiah Cooper and Malachi Webb, as well as Presentation College San Fernando's 2023 national intercol winning trio of Vaughn Clement, Kaielle Elliott and Chaz Forde will be among 43 players who will participate in the Gateway Athletics college football showcase at UTT's O'Meara campus on Saturday.

Cooper was a member of TT's team at last year's Concacaf under-20 championships, and he went on to represent Tiger Tanks Club Sando in the inaugural TT Premier Football League (TTPFL) season and the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Club Shield. Cooper was also a regular figure at the back for Naparima College in the 2022 and 2023 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) seasons. Webb, a St Benedict's College standout, played a starring role up front for TT in the Concacaf under-17 championships in February 2023.

Several other players from the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) will feature in the showcase and will have the opportunity to seek scholarship offers, with coaches from Kansas Wesleyan University and Louisiana Christian University expected to attend.

Under the guidance of Gateway Athletics managing director Shem Alexander, the football showcase began in 2012 and was temporarily halted in 2020 and 2021 due to covid19. Alexander told Newsday roughly 100 players have attained scholarship offers through the showcase over the years, with 12 players receiving scholarships last year.

After having somewhat of an open-door policy to players in previous years, Alexander said Gateway needed to pinpoint players who were not only interested in taking up scholarship offers overseas but also satisfied the academic criteria to be accepted.

"We have two college coaches who are here. We have Niquell de Matas from Louisiana and (Ainsworth) Grant from Kansas. We also have a coach from Boston, and (the showcase) will be recorded," Alexander said. "It is just an opportunity for the players to be seen and recruited for scholarship opportunities.

"Each school's requirements are different, but on average a minimum of a 3.0 high school GPA is required. For some institutions, a minimum of 1050 in the SAT exam will be the requirement."

Grant, an East Zone intercol winner with St Augustine Secondary in 2015, is currently an assistant coach with Kansas' football programme.

Alexander said the showcase will take the shape of 30-minute matches, with the coaches being given the chance to experiment with formations and utilising the players in varying positions.

"Part of the process before the showcase is us gathering information for all of the players. The coaches will have this information beforehand and they will be able to liaise with the players directly if they are interested."

Alexander said the process of enrolling the student-athletes into the respective colleges can be tedious, and Gateway is ready and willing to guide the players every step of the way.

The showcase will start at 9 am.