By Dean “The Sportsman” Greenaway
U15 Boys CONCACAF Championships team
The BVI Nature Boys stumbled through the CONCACF U15 Boys Championships in Orangestad, Aruba, where they played in League B Group F.
They fell into a 5-0 first half hole against a dominant Guatemala side in their first time playing in a Group B match in Aruba, as four different players accounted for the early scoring, as they went down 9-1.
Tyrique “TyTy” Charles had the best chance for a BVI first half score in stoppage time, but the ball went wide and Guatemala took a 5-0 lead into the break.
The Nature Boys’ halftime adjustments saw them coming out aggressive and substitute Noah Salt in his debut with the BVI, broke the Guatemala defense for a score in the 41st, cutting the deficit to 6-1.
In their second game, Jose Mejia had a hat trick in leading the Dominican Republic to a 4-0 win over the BVI, as they pressed late in the match, in an effort to cancel out Guatemala’s goal difference, after beating the BVI 9-1.
Against St. Kitts Nevis Sugar Boys in game three, Isiah Bradshaw got a feed from Eddy and fired one from the penalty spot past Goalie Trevorn Stevens for a 1-0 edge 11 minutes into the contest. It was their first goal of the Championships, enroute to a 6-0 win.
“The tiredness crept into our team today and we had to make early changes because of injuries,” Cassandra “Coach Cass” Gregg said. “In the B League, you must be quick, meaning first to the ball and decide the 4 W’s, what, when, who, and where. Fitness and proper rest are very important in sports and I knew it was always a difficult task for us in our group. My expectation was never to win the group, but to coach the boys to play from their hearts, enjoy the game and have fun.”
Gregg, who has been coaching for over 30 years, said that it felt good to be among some of the big countries, best coaches and the coaches congratulated her and respected her as a woman with a big heart.
“As for that woman with a big heart, my time has come to an end with being head coach of any team,” Gregg, who made her regional debut in 1999. “I will be retiring from any of these posts.”
In the placement game,led by Amari Small’s brace, the Barbados Bajan Tridents overpowered the BVI Nature Boys, 5-0, to close out play in the championships.
“The game wasn’t bad. What was bad is the poor refereeing that would break any players mentally, we had our chances and unfortunately didn’t take them, but I am always going to be extremely proud of our Nature Boys,” Gregg said. “For us to compete in these high-level leagues, we need a strength and conditioning program to help our players in growth and fitness and gain experience among some of the coaches in the CONCACAF region.”
