Youth Development team warms up for roll-out of GFF Scotiabank academy

Feb 12, 2017 Sports

Georgetown: The nine Technical Development Officers (TDOs) and 14 Youth

TDOs and YDOs listen to Ian Greenwood during the training programme for the GFF-Scotiabank ATCs.

Development Coaches (YDCs) who will coordinate the new GFF-Scotiabank Academy Training Centres (ATC) put the final touches to their preparations on Friday, training with GFF
Technical Director Ian Greenwood and his expanded, new team in Georgetown, a release from the GFF noted.
This event was held at the National Resource Centre from the afternoon of Thursday, 10th February, 2017 and consisted of classroom and practical sessions.
“This stepping stone is going to be really fantastic for a lot of footballers,” said Ryan Alcides, the new TDO for the Rupununi region. “Football is going to the next level and I’m excited to partake in this programme. The impact is really going to help a lot of kids.”
“It’s going to have a real impact on the development of football,” said Georgetown Football
Association’s (GFA) TDO Sampson Gilbert. “For years, we’ve been looking for a programme like this to move football in Guyana forward.”
The ATC, a nationwide programme and the first of its kind in Guyana, started yesterday with the East Bank Demerara Football Association (EBFA) hosting an academy session from 9.30hrs with young players from across the area.

TDO Lyndon France makes a point during the TDO-YDO training for the GFF-Scotiabank ATCs.

There will be 13 GFF-Scotiabank ATCs across the country in the first wave of the programme,
designed to boost participation in football and to give the most talented boys and girls from the nine GFF Regional Member Associations (RMAs) the best chance to reach their full potential.
The programme is part of the GFF’s mission to reform and develop football, with the aim of putting Guyana at the top of football nations in the Caribbean. The GFF-Scotiabank Academy Training Centres will provide weekly training from grassroots sessions for 5-11 year olds to professional coaching for older boys and girls aimed at preparing them for the demands of international youth football.
“The country will benefit a great deal,” said Akilah Castello, a former women’s national player who will be tasked with scouting and developing new talent in the Upper Demerara Football Association (UDFA) region.
“It’s the first time in Guyana we have seen football taken so seriously and seen women involved
in this way. We will have more women playing, and that will encourage others to join. It will inspire others to come along and play.”

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