Football, fit players and bush-baths: Indy Premier’s winning trip to Trinidad

VIDIA RAMPHAL

A near-flawless defensive record and a flood of goals underlined Indy Premier’s dominant performance in the Jewels of the Caribbean invitational football tournament last week in Trinidad.

The Indianapolis-based football academy left Trinidad with silverware in both hands by capturing the Under-17 crown and then edging Jamaica’s Under-20 team to complete a dominant sweep at the tournament.

Indy Premier’s U-17 team was impressive, winning all their games and notching 20 goals without conceding any.

Reflecting on their performance, Trinidad-born head coach Kenrick Ramirez said their performance stems from a player-development model, rather than a results-driven approach.

He and his team, which included Indiana Coaching Hall of Fame inductee Russell Gee and U20 defender Aubrey Robertson, emphasize game intelligence, decision-making, fitness, positional fluidity, and data-driven analysis over rigid position coaching.

“We don’t really focus on teams to begin with. We don’t teach positions,” Ramirez said, “When you teach positions, decision-making becomes an issue.”

“We have players who play in several different roles because they know the game of football.”

More impressively, Indy Premier beat the national teams of TT (4-0) and Jamaica (5-0 and 3-0) on its way to the title.

During the seven-day tournament, the academy’s management rotated players in and out of the team constantly to manage workload, without any change in results.

In preparing for national teams, Indy Premier’s management adjusted their preparation mode and pivoted to face TT and Jamaica.

Ramirez and his team focused on three aspects of play: decision-making in the attacking third, transition to attack, and transition to defend.

“We played a lot of forward passes. When they lost the ball, we attacked because we didn’t think they would have transitioned well defensively,” he said.

Ramirez emphasized the collective nature of the team and rejected the idea that the team had “unsung heroes.”

“Every role is respected,” he said, “Some players have special qualities, but for those with special abilities to just play, others have to do certain roles.”

Indy Premier’s Under-20 team was no less impressive, conceding only two goals in four games and netting 12.

On and off the field, the US-based academy weathered a logistical nightmare to achieve success.

Indy Premier came to Trinidad with only 11 Under-20 players and filled out their roster with U-17 players.

Club staff in Indianapolis were carefully monitoring their workload through GPS trackers.

Ramirez heaped praise on this player’s commitment and the TT Football Association for its part in easing logistical complications.

“TT football did a fantastic job getting us where we needed to be, when we needed to be. The organisation and hospitality were outstanding,” he said.

Ramirez and his team ensured that their players had the full “Trini experience,” taking them to have bake-and-shark on Maracas beach, and a trip to Frederick Settlement to watch the East-West Corridor League. Ramirez also laughingly revealed that two of his players—after hearing a reference to a “bush-bath” to rid oneself of bad luck—took extra-long baths after ordinary performances in matches.

One of them broke her scoring drought in the next game, and the other was voted tournament MVP.

“We would have wanted to do more from a tourist standpoint, but we really want them to feel the heart of things while fitting into the schedule that we have because our schedule is tight,” Ramirez said.

The Trinidad-born head coach was once a promising player, shining during QRC’s 1997 championship-winning run.

His coaching journey came after his playing career was curtailed by a serious accident that required multiple surgeries and a prolonged absence from the game.

Ramirez’s pathway changed during that enforced pause—after settling in Columbus, Indiana, he returned to football through coaching after working with a gifted young player, Lindsay Fox.

“You just need somebody to put everything together, and we could produce a lot like her and not just one every four or five years,” Ramirez said.

The experience opened his eyes to the untapped potential of football in basketball-centric Indiana, if the sport was properly structured.

Success followed. At just 26, Ramirez became the youngest club director in Indiana, leading the Columbus Express Soccer Club while contributing to the player-development framework with US Soccer and Indiana Soccer.

During the next decade, the player-first philosophy served Columbus Express well, producing a steady pipeline of scholarship athletes and national team players.

A move to Indianapolis and Indy Premier marked the next chapter.

Within six months, Ramirez was elevated to sporting director, where he and the Indy Premier leadership team oversaw significant growth at the non-profit club through unified leadership and a clear development vision.

“Winning is a component of development, but if you are developing well, winning becomes a subset, not something that is focused on,” he said.

Yet, for Ramirez, legacy is not measured by titles but by people.

As he sees it, winning should follow development, and football’s greatest success lies in shaping responsible, well-rounded human beings.

“(An era where) the kids had the freedom to become who they want to be, and ultimately an era where a lot of players became good human beings,” Ramirez said.

“We just want everyone to become good stewards of society.”