Massive crowd at DCup finals

[Assasin]

how many of these youths getting into top programs?

Scouts maybe watching but most of the best programs will not even bother because of the requirement it takes to get them in a D1 program.

That is where the emphasis should be.

The Whitecaps program is unique because of it European connections and I hope Orgill benefit from it.

[Lazie]

Fuller, Gardner, Phillips, Ricketts, Dane Richards, Shavar, etc. all did well at high school football. So how do you ask, how has high school football moved us forward?!?

Duh well different from star ... but knock unuhself out .... no wait ... we already did that.

[Lazie]

And if we weren't supporting the youths, yuh woulda hear how the youth is the foundation and we need to support them, blah, blah, blah...

Schoolboy football isn't the route. All now unuh fail to see that. Don't attempt to give the impression I'm not for youth development. The Parish assn. should be taking care of that. Running various youth clinics and competitions .. u13, u15 etc. But I guess because of tradition we'll keep beating our heads against the wall.

[Me]

Fuller, Gardner, Phillips, Ricketts, Dane Richards, Shavar, etc. all did well at high school football. So how do you ask, how has high school football moved us forward?!?

If we focused seriously on football and stopped wasting them in high school football, those players would have been much further ahead.

We continuously let down scouts who come to see our players because the talented ones not doing any schoolwork and are not in a pro environment to make up for that. The ones with the grades are usually just average footballers.

[Hortical]

I would tend to agree with that statement. Most of the top ballers in the world could never cut it at an American college based on what I have read.

[Sickko]

Dear God man stop acting like Assassin and try to think outside of your prejudices and ignorance..this is not about schoolboys playing a sport as an end but it is more than that..the JFF which is mandated to develop the sport at every level in the country must cash in on what is the best supported league in the island..they need to learn something from DCup and Manning Cup and see why they have three hundred people at NPL games when thousands turn oiut to support schools you might never have heard of like Maldon High and Bellefield High.

The JFF miust stop ignoring the school boys leagues simply because they have failed time and again to get it under their umbrella (and the money involved) and see how best we can streamline the game from the Prep/Primary level or dog nyam we supper.

[Sickko]

Assassin once again you need to ask questions and not make statements you cant substantiate...Cornwall College for example has averaged at least three or four scholarships every year since the early 1980s and lots of people in the west contribute the drop in the level to the fact that so many of the better schoolboy players dont play club football here.

Yesterday at the DCup finals I saw Sean Bucknor, Steve Bucknor's son who was at best a rucks at Cornwall but he had good grades and went to some JC in Ohio where he broke every single scoring record and is now at some big Div One school in Florida with at least four more Jamaicans.

This season alone I can count six former DCup players from Cornwall who started school all over the US

Dane Richards was one of at least nine Cornwall boys who went to San Jacinto JC in Houston in a three year period, ALL of who went on to Div One schools.

Williams, the former Godfrey Stewart centre half went staright to URI, check out their website.

This kid from Mannings who went to Glenmuir last year, McNain is now at some Div 2 school in Florida and these are only the ones I can think of from the top of my head.

At last year's DCup semi-finals at Jarrett Park between Cornwall and Glenmuir we had no fewer than six college scouts from Div One schools, two came with Bradley Stewart.

[Sickko]

and you understand that not every 'star' baller at high school level will go on to play well at the next level, like every sport in the world.

One of the best schoolboys team I saw was the Cornwall team 1982-84 where at least nine of them went to Howard University and maybe three played all four years and one ever made a Reggae Boyz team.

We could use Munro's track team of a few years back when the 4x4 team combined for about 60 CXCsa all As, and they wree good too and the 4x100m team as well...how many of them every represented Jamaica at the next level?

[Me]

You are correct Assassin. Most of these guys are not getting into top programs. Community College football is a waste of two years of development, especially for our footballers with pro potential.

Many people back home do not even know that half of the schools our ballers attend are some bush programs. Just like how some will think that Sean Bucknor is in some huge time program at University of Tampa, when that is a bush conference at best.

The sooner we let schools be about academics and start seriously focusing on our youth, the better products we will have.

[Mosiah]

Agreed!

But until we have better, let's not knock our best academies right now!

[Assasin]

As I stated TOP PROGRAMS. I am not talking about schools that play soccer for three months and the youths them get fat after 2 years.

Not all D1 programs are top. I am talking about cream of the cream program which offer year round program and work on development.

[Assasin]

thanks I am not about youths going to different colleges but serious ahtletes need to go to serious colleges.

[Mosiah]

thanks I am not about youths going to different colleges but serious ahtletes need to go to serious colleges.

Serious athletes need to go to serious clubs!

[Assasin]

that is a fact. You have some that are not club ready yet but with a good 4 years in college them can make it like Damani Ralph and Dane Richards. We may not be able to send more that 3 four players pro a year straight from Ja but we can send an additional 10-15 youths to good programs.

I am talking schools that have a program, weight training, all year round program including spring ball game. I know that even St.Johns give players things to work on during their breaks.

Some of the colleges don't business with a player until the middle of August and by November it done as you may know from your D3 school.

[Karl]

bigger than ant game day in the Digicel Cup tournament even when the Reggae Boyz were playing..the Guyanese FA president who was there with Captain Burrell was clearly impressed with the crowd as it was the biggest one he has seen at a football game since he was here.

In forcing the postponment of the game from last week, the JFF did our football a big dis-service.

If they were thinking of developing the game they could have simply incorporated the DCup finals in the football celebrations.

Imagine if they had invited all the visiting FA presidents etc and the MLS Scouts who were here to wtach the DCC to see the game and view the youngsters on parade.

If two or three of these players were invited to a MLS academy it would be worth it...these players could come back and in five six years force their way into a Reggae Boyz team or maybe even earn a decent living from the game.

Win win situation..but instead the JFF tried to force the fans to go see their games which for the most parts were maybe equal to what we see in our DPL here.

Who sponsors Schoolboy football?
...and does it matter, if the D/Cup final & the Manning Cup final was used as curtain-raisers in the Digicel Cup tournament? Would that have helped defraying of costs and or inspired - via heightened atmosphere - the level of football at the senior level to step up?

...and why would the youngsters on such a stage not also...step up?

...or(? or 'and')?) is it thoughts such as these cannot work as tournament rules or egos would not allow such sharing of the stage?