In
team sports it is always fitting when a player is
recognized and rewarded for his or her efforts over the
course of a season. Some players are rewarded for their
performance during playoffs run or a final game, while
others are rewarded in defines categorical areas as a
stand out for their team for sportsmanship, discipline
etc:
However in sports there is no other award that holds
more merit than the Player of the year award. The winner
of a Player of the Year award would have exemplified all
the qualities of sportsmanship, total discipline and
most important the ability to rise above the rest of the
field, in regards to performance and contribution.
The
prestigious Player of the Year award can be won at all
levels as mentioned, but to me the highest level to
achieve a national player of the year award is at the
senior level. This is due to the fact that at all the
other levels of play there is always room for growth and
development.
The
fact that Dwayne De Rosario and Christine Sinclair was
voted Canada Male and Female Player of the Year
respectively for a third consecutive year, speaks volume
for their ability and their commitment to consistently
improve their game while maintaining their passion for
the sport.
Presently Christine Sinclair seems to be ahead of the
other Canadian women players in all facets of the game,
while on the other hand consecutive awards of this
magnitude for De Rosario I consider to be a typical
example of a player that work hard and assert himself to
be the best that he can possibly be given any situation.
Dwayne De Rosario has matured in his game and what used
to be called a kamikaze style of play, is now the
blueprint for players with the ability to set up goals,
create space and score on a moments notice. Why is De
Rosario not positioned as a central midfielder for
Canada is anyone’s guess?
Since Christine Sinclair and the Canada women’s team
have been to World Cup, it is imperative that the
Canadian Soccer Association absorb new ideas and make a
serious push to get their men team in order for South
Africa 2010. At 29 years young Dwayne De Rosario and the
other talented Canada players are waiting in the wings
with their clock ticking. Julian De Guzman was runners
up to De Rosario for the Player of the Year award.
In
preparation for their 2008 MLS season, Toronto FC picked
Trinidad and Tobago youth international Julius James and
Pat Phelan in the first round of the MLS 2008 Super
Draft in Baltimore last Friday. James is a defender out
of the University of Connecticut while Phelan helped his
Wake Forest University team win the NCAA championship
and is reported as versatile.
Although he was very humbly and modest in his approach
to his MLS rookie year coach Mo Johnson thinks that
James and Phelan has the ability to create an impact in
the league similar to Maurice Edu's MLS Rookie of the
Year performance in 2007.
However James mentioned that he cited Toronto's large
West Indian community as a major factor that should ease
his adjustment to a new environment. "So I'll have to go
through a very steep learning curve, and I hope the
technical staff and the guys over there are going to
help me with that."
Kenwyne Jones has been named the Trinidad and Tobago
Football Federation’s (T&TFF) Player of the Year 2007
based on his nomination for the First Citizen’s Bank
Sportsman of the Year Award. The 23-year-old Jones plays
striker for Sunderland in the English Premiership and
can be said to be following the footsteps of his current
Sunderland teammate Dwight Yorke who was named the 2006
Player of the Year.
TTFF female player of the Year is 17-year-old Avanell
Isaac of Joe Public Football Club. She is a member of
the Trinidad and Tobago’s Women’s Olympic Team that is
preparing for the upcoming CONCACAF final round of
qualification in March. Avanell Isaac was also voted as
the 2007 MVP of the T&T Women’s League, and was
instrumental in T&T’s success in the preliminary stages.
In his reflection on the male and female winners TTFF
President Oliver Camps stated, “They have demonstrated
the key characteristics of progressive sporting
personalities and what is remarkable too is that they
are doing this at what can be considered young ages. I
think they are fine examples for the rest of our
aspiring athletes, particularly in the sport of
football.”
Kenwyne Jones is being scouted as the top of the list
among T&T’s professional footballers, after he joined
Sunderland in a deal £6 million deal which saw Stern
John moving to his old team Southampton.
When contacted by the TTFF Media with the good news
Kenwyne Jones noted “First of all it’s extremely nice
and I feel honoured to be the Trinidad and Tobago
Footballer of the Year. A lot of big names have won this
before and I never really thought about something like
this happening to me. He continued “I must thank the country and the authorities for
believing in me and showing this kind of support and
hopefully I can repay by doing the best I can on the
football field and help the country achieve great
things. Qualifying for the next World Cup in South
Africa is obviously one of the aims now,” .
Stay tuned for other Stars in action.
