DIRECTV North East Stars celebrated their return to the T&T Pro League with their Player of the Season awards at Woodford Cafe, Movie Towne on Wednesday.
Over 100 guests were present to witness defender Glenton Wolfe receive the evenings two main awards. 29 year old Wolfe, who's brother, Anton also plays for North East Stars, won both the Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year. "Its a magnificent achievement" said C.E.O., Brent Sancho.
"The club management selected Glenton because he was so consistent throughout the season. Even when he was carrying an injury, Wolfey insisted on playing.
To us, Glenton epitomises the North East Stars spirit, and the fact that his team mates also chose him as their player of the year speaks volumes"
The Player of the Year runner up was Marc "Passion" Leslie. Sancho said "Passion was really unlucky as he received a bad injury which ended his season early.
He has been a stand out player for us all season and if it wasn't for the injury it would have been almost impossible to choose between Wolfey and Passion."
The players chose Jamaican forward Sean Fraser as their runner up. "Seans got a wealth of experience, having played in the MLS as well as in Brazil. His pace put fear into opposition defences and , of course, he scored our winning goal in the Lucozaed Goal Shield final."
The Young Player of the Year was collected by Jeromie "Butters" Williams while the runner up was Kaydion "Drogba" Gabriel. "Its great for us at DIRECTV North East Stars to give young players the chance to shine" said Sancho.
"Its important to the development of the National team to provide a pool of young talent to compliment the overseas players. Butters has been amazing this season. Once he forced his way into the first 11, he's managed to become a regular.
Drogba's pace is exciting and I expect to see him score regularly next season. Both of these guys have benefited from playing alongside more seasoned players such as Anton Wolfe, Errol McFarlane and Kendall Velox and I hope Otto Pfister takes a look at them for the national teams."
Akiel Guevera picked up the award for goal of the season with Sean Fraser in close contention. Kendall Velox won the Fair Play award for his attitude on the pitch.
"Velox still plays the game with a smile on his face" said Sancho. "Although refereeing decisions do not always go your way, its important to focus on the game and not argue.
I have also seen Velox on the end of some bad challenges, but retaliation is not in his dictionary, and he just gets on with the game. He is a fantastic example of professionalism."
Sancho also noted the individual performance of striker Antony Wolfe. "Anton may well have been top scorer for two Pro League teams in one season! When he joined us from Ma Pau, I think he had scored something like 18 goals for them and he must have achieved a similar total for us.
I'm praying he can bang in 36 goals next season for North East to take us through to the CONCACAF championships. He's a frightening talent and his goal scoring achievements are phenomenal"
The final award was the Community Player of the Year, which went to Carey Harris. Operations Director, Kevin Harrison said " This, to me, is the most important award.
All of our players have supported the DIRECTV North East Stars community projects, and by extention, the Pro Leagues Digicel HOPE Project. This involves players giving up their free time to bring some cheer to those less fortunate than themselves.
Carey was a joy to work with. He was keen to take part in everything, volunteering for events he was not even selected for. Tonights award is fully deserved as a recognition of Careys' compassion and willingness to help North East make a difference in its community."
Harrison, who together with Events Coordinator, Khaty Martin-Jones organised the event, went on to say " We would have loved to have held this event in the North East, but unfortunately we were unable to find a venue large enough to accommodate up to 150 guests within our budget.
However, our friends at Woodford Cafe, as usual, helped make this event both successful and memorable. We were grateful also for the assistance of our sponsors, DIRECTV, Carib, Japs Fried Chicken, Toyota, Neal & Massey Remittance Services, Chere-Mere & Full Circle Animation and Full Circle Homes.
This is our "off the field" team without who's support we would not be able to carry out our community projects. Next season will be even bigger and better for DIRECTV North East Stars both on and off the field. Its an exciting time to be involved with the club."
Presentation of flower bouquets were made to Sharmaine Mahabir, club President Darryl Mahabir's wife, Julia Baptiste from the Pro League, North East Stars administrator, Sade Henry, club physio Sherry Lewis and Khaty Martin-Jones.
T&T Pro League C.E.O. Dexter Skeene gave a short speech congratulating DIRECTV North East Stars on their return to the league and reiterated the importance of community involvement as a route to strengthening both the clubs and the league.
DIRECTV C.E.O., Bernard Pantine, expressed his satisfaction with the companys' involvement with North East Stars and noted that company was looking forward to an even closer bond with the club and an even more successful 2011/12 campaign.