Arima North Secondary football programme averts danger

WITH just days to go before the start of the 2025 Secondary Schools’ Football League (SSFL) premier division, Arima North Secondary School have finally confirmed their available players for the season.

The coaching staff, including head coach Wayne Sheppard, was not pleased with the tardiness of school administrators in informing them who would be accepted into sixth form or who would be allowed to repeat form five. This affects the football team directly as the coaches will not know who is available for team selection.

Sheppard said the deadline date has passed, saying the students should have been informed since the end of August if they would be able to continue their studies at Arima North.

Sheppard wants the school officials to show the football programme more support, but the players have their jobs as well.

“The pre-season has not been the best. Boys consistently missing training,” Sheppard said.

The head coach has not been satisfied with the commitment of the players during the pre-season. In one recent training session, he said only 12 players turned up in a squad of more than 20.

Arima North have shown that they can compete with the powerhouse teams in the league like Fatima College, St Benedict’s College and Presentation College San Fernando.

Last season, Arima competed at a high level finishing fifth in the 16-team competition.

Sheppard said players must understand they have to be consistent to progress and are asking the parents to show more support. He said players also chose to play in a tournament instead of attending training with the school.

Sheppard said a lot of work has been going on over the last couple of years to get the team to a certain standard. “It is more than frustrating...we formed an academy here and we take our boys, work with them to get them to play how we want to play. That is in the off-season. It is a lot of work. I am living Port of Spain and I am driving up here nearly every day to put in that work. It is frustrating from the point of view of building that, seeing where it got to and just the dedication from boys you can’t get that because they don’t understand what is required.

“They don’t understand what is discipline and dedication in coming to training every day.”

Players who recently played for the team have reaped the rewards as over the last three years five Arima North players have earned scholarships to play and study in the US.

“Uniforms, equipment, everything, me and my staff...we source and fund that through my network and contacts.”

Sheppard said the team will have two sets of uniforms for the 2025 season. Arima will play their first game of the SSFL season on September 13.