Women’s football stepping up efforts

There is a concerted effort being made by local football authorities to get the women’s game on a stronger footing.{{more}}

Despite some hiccups with an assured training venue, the early start to preparations of the senior national team for the world cup qualifiers in a few months’ time, is testimony of this.

The team has been assembling for the past weeks, and newly appointed head coach Andrew Bramble is seeing fruits of the efforts.

“ … We meet twice per week …. But the conditions here are not conducive for preparing a national team, because the competition for space here is real tight as there is track and field, cricket and other footballers…. We try to do what we can with the best we have,” Bramble said of the sessions conducted thus far.

“On Tuesdays we do physical work and on Thursdays we do the technical/tactical work… Saturdays what we do is get in some practice games mainly against Under-17 boys …,” Bramble revealed.

Bramble noted that the progamme has to be like this granted that there are few female teams functioning, hence the format of the training.

He said that the construct of the training squad is a merger of the Under-20 team and the other active players.

Assessing the overall progress of the sessions, Bramble stated: “We have a good thing going, but we have to work a little bit more on the physical aspect …. There are some people whose physical fitness needs to be upped and we still need to get an understanding of playing positions.”

The head coach said that he is grateful to goalkeeper coach Urtis Blackette and assistant coach Hollister Browne for their tremendous input in the training sessions.

Bramble said he is making full use of a recent coaching course he attended in Mexico to bring to bear on the team.

Coach Bramble, who was part of a high level Olympic Solidarity course in that Central American country late last year, believes he now has a better understanding of preparing a national women’s team.

Referring to the course, Bramble added : “ It was a good week spent … All in all it helped me to rejuvenate myself to assist in putting St Vincent and the Grenadines further and to the next level.”

St Vincent and the Grenadines senior women’s football team will be part of the 2015 world cup qualifiers set for April, however information of the team’s group is yet to be revealed.(RT)