T&T U17s get intense beach work out.
By: Shaun Fuentes (TTFF).
Trinidad and Tobago’s National Under 17 footballers continued their preparations ahead of next month’s FIFA Under 17 World Championship with an intense work out sea side at the Las Cuevas beach on Wednesday.
Thirty two players, under the watchful eyes of head coach Anton Corneal and team trainer Gilbert Bateau , were put through some rigorous exercises on the sand and in the water with medicine balls also being used during the session.
Not even a downpour of rain could dampen the session nor the spirits of the young “Soca Warriors” as they flexed their muscles for a good part of three hours.
“We did sessions like this very early on in the campaign in Manzanilla and this time we felt it was necessary again to have one in Las Cuevas,” Corneal told TTFF Media. “It’s all part of endurance training and we probably will do this once a week before we leave for Korea.
“It’s another part of the training that allows us to get a very intense workout away from the football field or the gym. The guys know it is going to be a tough debut for them at the Championship and so they are prepared to go through tough days like these in which their bodies are put through a thorough work out.”
Corneal is looking ahead to a tour of the United States later this month where games against teams there are being lined up before the team heads over to Holland prior to its arrival in Korea in mid August. Manager Chriso Gouveia is ensuring all documents are in place for the team's travel itinerary
T&T plays its first game at the Championship on August 20 against two-time champions Ghana and then meets Colombia on August 23 and Germany three days later. A glance at that schedule the average T&T national would undoubtedly press the panic button. But team captain Leston Paul says his team have gotten past that initial anxiety over the caliber of its opponents and are gearing up for the challenges ahead.
“I don’t think we are worried about who we have to play anymore. Right now our main focus is to work hard. That is how we are dealing with it,” Paul said after the beach session.
“We did this kind of exercise a while back but now I think it was a bit harder because our bodies are different and we are being worked harder plus the body is responding differently. We know how important it is to work hard too so it’s not a big problem.
“We are talking all the time and I think everyone is excited but we also have to prepare ourselves mentally and physically for those games. We are not scared about it,” the TTFF youth player of the year for 2006 concluded.
The team goes into camp in the south-land at the Accent Hotel, St Joseph Village on Thursday and will train on Friday morning at the Ato Boldon Stadium.
