High Praise for Stern’s Program

The Stern John Skills Award programme has come in for high praise from Technical Director of the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation Lincoln Phillips.

In a Trinidad Express article, it was stated Phillips  “heaped praises on the Stern John Skills Award Programme for “watering the roots” of local football as the football clinic continues to expand its reach.

The Programme, which caters for primary school students between the ages of seven and 11, is in its fourth year and, for the first time, has added game situations to a tutorial that includes the basic skills of the game like ball control, juggling, heading and utilizing space.

Phillips claimed that the initiative is in keeping with his own developmental plans and essential to providing a solid foundation for future football stars.

“The educational psychologists refer to the ages of 7 through 11 as the age of enlightenment,” Phillips told Trinidad Express’ Lasana Liburd. “This is the period that (…) they are like sponges. That is the period when you want the players to be very comfortable with the ball.

 “They must see the ball as a toy and as a play thing. The juggling and the step-overs and so on that are helping them to master the ball.

“It is more competitive than going home and working on their skills alone. It provides a solid foundation for the kids to move forward.”

The Skills Programme is the brainchild of England-based striker Stern John—Trinidad and Tobago’s record goal scorer with 67 goals from 100 appearances—and is run by Mary Siu Butt, the RBTT manager of shareholder relations and a former national hockey goalkeeper, with assistance from Police FC technical director and ex-national coach Muhammad Isa.

“We are seeking to develop players with the talent and the ability to play at a high level,” said Siu Butt. “We are also trying to create a different attitude and personality for our players for the future; from the mental to the physical…

“Stern saw it as very necessary to have a developmental programme for our football and we encouraged him to have it at national level involving as many primary schools as possible in Trinidad and Tobago .

“Also, very importantly, it is free unlike many of the other football camps for children.”

Phillips gave his full support for the initiative, which sent coaches to 102 boy schools and 21 girl schools this year.

“I support it 100 percent and highly recommend that more of the primary schools get involved in it,” he said. “I try to go to every function they have and I am usually a guest speaker. Muhammad Isa works very closely with me and we collaborate on the type of programs that should be offered, so I provide technical assistance.

“They always have my endorsement in any effort towards sponsorship too.”

For three to four months every year, the Skills Programme sends a bevy of coaches—such as Philbert Jones, Terry Williams, Kendall Crawford and Rajesh Latchoo—into interested primary schools with balls to train the students and teachers.

“The coaches are assigned various schools within a particular area who they must visit,” said Siu Butt. “They are paid a stipend of $1,600 per month. But they must first send in work sheets detailing things like the development of the teams and the various interest levels and so on.

“These have to be stamped by the school principals and are kept by our technical director, Mohammed Isa.”

For the first two years, the Programme featured two licensed coaches from the Birmingham FC Coaching Academy and Siu Butt would love to have more international help although they are not always able to afford it.

Insufficient funding also means that coaches now travel with footballs on their rounds rather than assigning balls to each school, as was the case earlier. Only Scarborough RC represented the sister isle for this year’s football tournament and Siu Butt again pointed to the cost of bringing each school from Tobago —$6,640 airfare and $800 transport from the airport plus accommodation.

At present, the Ministry of Sport is the most generous sponsor with an annual donation of $140,000 while John and the Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago give $100,000 each. But the figure falls short of Siu Butt’s projected $500,000 budget.

Lincoln Phillips

The Skills Programme hopes to soon move into stage three of its plan, which is promoting more holistic athletes by educating the best players on things like etiquette and discipline.

Siu Butt is concerned that the development of the young players might stagnate between the ages of 11 and 14 as there are no national programmes in place, at present, for those age groups although Phillips insisted this will soon change.

Phillips commended the work of the Stern John Programme and recommended that other coaching clinics follow their example.

“The difference between the Stern John and the other coaching schools is that the others charge money,” said Phillips, “but the Stern John school is free and extremely well organised, which takes care of transparency. Not that I have a problem with coaching schools charging money but we would like the other academies to also try to have a business approach.”

Ten years from today, the name “Stern John” may be just as applicable in discussions about the national football team and its future.

John , Trinidad and Tobago ’s record scorer with 61 goals, will be 40 and, almost certainly, retired from the international game. It is quite likely, though, that at least a handful of graduates from today’s football showcase will be wearing red, black and white colours by then.