A 22-member Trinidad and Tobago’s National Women’s U-17 football team arrived in Panama City on Thursday night for a schedule of warm-up internationals over the next few days.
T&T will face Panama’s National Women’s U-17 team on Saturday evening and will travel to El Salvador next week for two more matches.
Head Coach Even Pellerud will be using the upcoming encounters to see how players compete against international opposition after months of training on local soil and playing against local opponents.
“This is a chance for us to see how the players fare against international teams because this is what we will be up against next year at the World Championship. It’s going to be good exposure for a lot of the girls and I believe that they will compete well but it’s a matter of getting them accustomed to playing on the international stage,” Pellerud said.
The T&T team includes a few regular names including some who were part of the previous Under 17 team including goalkeeoer Saundra Baron, Kayla Taylor and Sydney Hoareau.
There was a five-day training camp last week which was a collaborative effort between the TTFF and the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago. And Pellerud added that the camp provided an excellent training ground for the team before their first international tour.
“The team practiced twice a day during the camp, we focused on shaping the team, the tactical assistance, and set plays for match preparations”
Over the last month, Pellerud introduced nine foreign based players to the training squad. The Norwegian born coach says the camp provided an excellent ground to fine tune the synergy of the team.
“We have introduced a number of new foreign based players in the squad recently. This intensive camp gives us an opportunity to ensure that the girls understand their strengths and techniques”.
Twenty Five girls participated in the camp and Pellerud revealed that the he used the training practice sessions to assess the capabilities of his players to face international competition.
“Twenty Five girls participated in the camp, I observed their ability to face all challenges under pressure in the filed.”
T&T team in Panama
1.Saundra Baron (GK)
2.Keri Myers (GK)
3.Linfah Jones (GK)
4.Camille Borneo (DEF)
5.Rehana Omardeen (DEF)
6.Tineisha Cobham (DEF)
7.Khadisha Debisette (DEF)
8.Annette Mims (DEF)
9.Patrice Vincent (DEF)
10.Brianna Ryce (MF)
11.Khadidra Debisette (MF)
12.Kayla Taylor (MF)
13.Victoria Swift (MF)
14.Jasmine Sampson (MF)
15.Sydney Hoareau (MF)
16.Mallory Archer (DEF)
17.Jessica De Leon (MF)
18.Patrice Campbell (FOR)
19.Kedisha Castillo (FOR)
20.Khara John (FOR)
21.Liana Hinds (FOR)
22.Camille Charles (MF)
Staff
1.Even Pellerud (Head Coach)
2.Jinelle James (Team Manager)
3.Richard Hood (Asst. Coach)
4.Ricarda Nelson (Asst. Manager)
5.Chris Bailey (Team Trainer)
6.Nicole Kistow (Physio)
7.Claire George (Equipment Manager)
8.Marius Rovde (Goalkeeper Coach)
9.Glennon Foncette (Asst. Goalkeeper Coach)