What is next for Vincy Heat?

Yes, the World Cup campaign for the St Vincent and the Grenadines senior men’s Football team- Vincy Heat is over.

This, as the team failed to obtain the six points need for a possible advancement to the final round of the Concacaf set up, which also depended on other results working in the Vincentians’ favour.

As it ended, Vincy Heat was only able to muster three points from their four matches.

A solitary win versus Anguilla was their highlight, as they endured losses to

Suriname (1-4) and El Salvador (1-3), in the 2024 June window.

It must be said that since those two defeats in Group F of the qualifiers, it has been a different look for the Ezra Hendrickson – coached outfit.

With Hendrickson’s entry as the chief tactician last August, visibly the team has shown incremental improvements, which in turn brought some positive results on the field.

A look at Hendrickson’s results sheet in the Concacaf Nations League, show double wins versus Montserrat, a win and a loss against El Salvador, as well as a win and a draw when his team opposed Bonaire.

A famous draw against the mighty Jamaica, and a loss to the same opponents in the Gold Cup play-offs, added to Vincy Heat’s encouraging pathway under Hendrickson.

These were followed by a win and a defeat against Anguilla and Puerto Rico respectively in Hendrickson’s oversee of Vincy Heat’s remaining World Cup matches.

In between, two draws with Grenada, two wins against St Kitts and Nevis, and a draw with the British Virgin Islands, took care of the international friendlies’ list.

Indeed, these results brought about a fresh look, greater expectations, an up-tick in public confidence and change in the psyche of the players.

Noteworthy as well, the team inspired the country, as the public rallied around them as the various levels of competition took place.

Winning is infectious, which was exhibited in the support.

Vincentians wore with pride the national colours whenever the team was in action; they bought replicas and concocted every piece of paraphernalia that represented allegiance and support.

Encouraging it is, but with no immediate competitions on the agenda, what then becomes of the national outfit? It is not clear what are the arrangements between Hendrickson and the executive of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation, relative to his contract’s life.

Whilst clarity and details are not forthcoming, hopefully, the technical department of the SVGFF has things in place to have the core of the locally based players continue some type of programme that ensures continuity of the work injected into them over the past nine months.

Fear though, is that players will revel in the “bush leagues,” and undo much of what they have learnt.

Despite the sparks ignited by the advent of Hendrickson into the national senior team, there is a need for that effort to build the sport from the ground up, as it was evident that Hendrickson relied heavily on the overseas- based players to do most of the heavy lifting in major competitions of his tenure thus far.

The over-reliance will not always be at our disposal, hence getting more home-grown players up to speed is paramount to the national cause.

Therefore, this column will continue to advocate for that elusive national youth programme that will ensure a solid foundation, paving the way for formidable age group national teams and ultimately, competitive national senior outfits.

We continue to grope in the dark, happy with the bits and pieces of success that often evaporate as they come along. Football, like any other aspect of life, is about sustained progression, and that is what we need for sport at this juncture.

The momentary hypes and temporary good feelings must be transformed to attainable and guaranteed success both on and off the field.