BARBADOS UNDER 13 TEAM TO TEST TRINIS

THE NAME Alex Fergusson is on the list of the Barbados football team to tour Trinidad this weekend.

That is sure to raise some eyebrows. However, it's not Alex Ferguson, the legendary Manchester United manager, but rather Alex Fergusson, a midfielder from Westbury Primary who has good ball control skills.

He is part of the National Sports Council's Under-13 team which will be embarking on a developmental tour. They will play six games against Under-13 players from semi-professional teams on the week-long tour.

Talent search

Coach Kenville Layne said Fergusson and his teammates were selected after an eight-month search for talent across the island.

The final group of 21 were taken from an original pool of more than 150 enthusiastic players.

"This team started training around January and they came out of the BICO Tournament for 2006," Layne said.

"We narrowed down the team and we have now settled on the final side. Most of these players come out of the rural areas and we tried to find the better players from those areas.

"We worked with them and this is the nucleus of the team.

"There is a developmental programme going on by the National Sports Council to assist all the children, mainly those who are not attached to clubs with coaching programmes."

Layne will be director of coaching on tour and will have Frank Holder and Roger Proverbs as his assistants, while the team will be managed by Tony Jarvis.

The Bajans start on Sunday against Cap Off Youths at the Ato Boldon Stadium. They face SFA Centre for Excellence on Monday at the Mannie Ramjohn Stadium, and on Wednesday they play against Mayaro Spurs in Mayaro.

Next Friday (August 24) they come up against Chaguanas RC at Presentation College; the next day, they journey to Guaracara Park to tackle Marabella; and their final game is on August 26 against Joe Public at the club's training ground.

Good citizens

Layne said the experience of playing against quality opposition should do the Bajans well.

"It's a developmental tour. Some of these boys have never travelled before, so this should serve them very well, as footballers and as individuals as well," Layne said.

"We are looking at producing good players and good citizens.

"We are not focusing on winning but on the development of the players and all of the rudiments. We are trying to build a team for the future.

"I have seen a lot of improvements in them already and I am hoping that they can learn a lot from this visit to Trinidad."

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