Jamaica men’s hockey team will open their CAC Games qualification today against Guatemala in Salamanca, Mexico, and coach Duvaughn Henlon sees his team going all the way to follow up their World Cup debut last year with qualification to another tournament.
Even with limited preparation time, Henlon believes Jamaica will beat all the teams in the group, with the exception of Mexico.
“We are in pretty good condition physically. We lack a bit of match practice, as we got a short notice in terms of our participation. We started our preparation in February and that is just three months.
“But the team has been committed to five days of training each week, and we have been playing (practice games) against the clubs in Jamaica. We are very confident that we will qualify for the CAC Games,” he said.
The 18-member squad, which left the island yesterday, will be led by captain Ajani Burton, and he will have quality returning players like Rasheed Johnson, Nickoy Stephenson, Daniel Powell, Tyrone Vernon and 15-year-old Ranaldo Golding of Denbigh High.
“Vernon should be solid at the back with his experience, he should be able to give us some clean sheets. And we have a 15-year-old who will be making his debut for the national team.
“Golding has been showing great talent while playing for Denbigh and his club, St Andrew. So we are looking forward to seeing this youngster on this stage and making a name for himself.”
After opening their account against Guatemala today, Jamaica will be up against Venezuela tomorrow. This will be followed by matches against Panama on May 6, Bermuda on May 7, and hosts Mexico on May 9.
He said the toughest opponents should be Mexico.
“That will be a very competitive game but we see ourselves making it to the CAC Games,” he insisted.
The team almost did not make it to the qualifiers because of financial limitations.
“We are thankful and grateful for the support we got to keep hockey going in Jamaica. It has been very difficult to secure funding and we almost missed this tournament. We basically bought tickets this week. We just got enough money to secure that and we are still seeking funding to finalise accommodation and food.
“So that has been the major challenge, financial resources. It affected them big time. Two weeks ago we had a meeting and told the players it didn’t look possible, that we were not going and the entire team was deflated.
Henlon said team members met over the Easter weekend and decided to fund their airfares. “So the players bought their own tickets with help from friends and family members. They want to play and represent Jamaica and qualify for the CAC Games and it’s a good mentality to have, that ability to fight and rally against the odds,” he stated.
The squad: Mark Coke, Rashad McCarthy, Rasheed Johnston (vice captain), Tuseef Graham, Daniel Powell, Dwight O’Hara, Kevaun Reid, Phillip Dawson, Rarjay Singh, Brandon Clarke, Christopher Reid, Gian-Paul Haughton, Ajani Burton (captain), Farijah Masters, Nickoy Stephenson, Ranaldo Golding, Shawn Aransevia and Tyrone Vernon.
livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com
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