Defending champions Excelsior buoyed by newcomers

Keon Broderick, head coach of defending Manning Cup champions Excelsior High School, says that although preparations for the upcoming schoolboy football season have not gone exactly as planned, he remains confident that his team will be ready when the competition kicks off this month.

The Mountain View-based school ended a 21-year wait for the Manning Cup title last season by defeating Jamaica College 2-0 in the final. Excelsior then completed the schoolboy football double by beating daCosta Cup champions St Elizabeth Technical High School by the same scoreline in the Olivier Shield.

However, Excelsior will enter the new season without several key players, including leading goalscorer Kimarley Scott, Terrence Williams, Cavan Salmon and Demario White.

Broderick noted that there is no pressure on his team to replicate last season’s success.

“There is no pressure at all because the programme is not only about winning, as it is more about how we develop these boys into productive members of society,” Broderick said.

“Winning a Manning Cup or an Olivier Shield does not define you as a person, and so it is all about development outside of football. Winning or losing does not define you as a person, so there is no pressure for us.”

Despite losing several players, Broderick said Excelsior still has enough quality to mount another strong challenge for the title.

“We are pretty confident. We still have a good bunch of players and they are adapting to the work that we are doing with them, so they are much smarter now, and I am expecting a great showing from them this season,” he said.

Broderick admitted that preparations have been somewhat slower than expected but said the coaching staff are working to ensure the players are ready for the demands of the competition.

“Things are going good. We are just focusing on preparing for the Manning Cup and we are looking at all areas of our preparation right now,” he said.

“The boys are in camp and gelling as they should, and we are creating the right chemistry and focusing on all aspects of development, which is important to us.”

According to Broderick, replacements for the departing quartet have already shown they are capable of filling the void.

“We have persons who would have replaced those persons who would have left, and those persons who played last year and who will be playing this year have shown great improvements,” he said.

“They have also shown a great deal of maturity and a lot more confidence.”

Broderick also said that, with the start of the Manning Cup approaching, there is still work to be done.

“We are looking quite decent so far, and there are a number of things that the coaching staff are working on because we are not 100 per cent in terms of the preparations, but we will get there by the time the competition starts,” he said.