SOLID Fatima College defender Machel James and Providence Girls High School lynchpin Ashley Alonzo emerged the stars of the 2005 Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL) season when they were named male and female players of the year respectively on Wednesday.
James, who marshalled the Mucurapo Road side to their first national RBTT InterCol title in 26 years was selected from a quality quintet that included teammates striker Makesi Lewis and sturdy midfielder Emmanuel Joseph, during the SSFL's awards at the Rudranath Capildeo Learning Resource Centre in Couva.
The other two players of the year were influential St Augustine Secondary Comprehensive midfielder Elton John, and rousing St Anthony's College's forward, Akil De Freitas.
Alonzo was the cream of the crop for the ladies, with her strong shooting and piercing passes in midfield, which helped see Providence to a girls InterCol triumph, ending the run of three successive years at the top by Malick Senior Comprehensive. She won the honour ahead of Providence winger Lyndsey Murray, St George's College custodian Tricia Lawrence, Moruga Composite midfielder Dernelle Mascall, and defender Ayana Russell of El Dorado Secondary Comprehensive.
InterCol sponsors RBTT also came up big for the two main prize winners, presenting them, in addition to Future Fortune start-up accounts for their winning teams, US$ 1,000 in scholarship towards their education. St Augustine, InterCol runners-up in both the male and female divisions, also collected Future Fortune starts from RBTT, as well as sizeable hampers from another sponsor, M&D Marketing and Distribution.
BGT&T "Big Five" champions Naparima were also on hand to collect their British Gas trophy, with Elijah Manners, skipper of runners-up San Juan Comprehensive, receiving his team's medals, while Mucurapo Senior who, along with Signal Hill Senior Comprehensive, finished third, also received their medals. Tobago, however, will honour their footballers at another function over in the sister isle. San Juan and "Naps" also collected their medals for their third-place RBTT InterCol finish after St Augustine and Fatima were presented with their second place prizes and RBTT Intercol Trophy respectively.
Providence got the RBTT Girls Intercol trophy.
The national Under-15 SSFL trophy went to St Anthony's College for their league triumph, while QRC grabbed the huge Topper trophy for a successful Under-14 campaign. The Under-16 Coca-Cola trophy went to El Dorado, with Presentation College San Fernando nabbing the SSFL trophy for the Senior (Under-19) division.
At the prize-giving function, Ministry of Education director of curriculum development Sharon Mangroo, filling in for Minister Hazel Manning, told the gathering it was heartening to see so many students excelling, not just in academics, but also in sport, which she said was also another "important intelligence". She also pointed out that in 2005, the international year of Physical Education, 292 students sat the first CXC/CSEC Physical Education examination.
There was a pass rate of 77 per cent. Ninety-seven students chose football as one of their practical areas.
Mangroo also announced that students from selected schools will be given the opportunity to view the World Cup when it visits Trinidad and Tobago from February 16.