Home

News & Reviews

Sports News

The Stars

Community

Gallery

Event Listings

   Contact Us

Caribbean Stars Sports & Family Day weekend  

In spite of some scattered showers throughout the day at Birchmount Stadium on Saturday the weather held up for the Sunday version of the Sports & Family Day weekend. The Saturday program opened with two teams from the SAAC Academy exhibiting their skills while Trendsetters and North Scarborough looked on in anticipation of a very keen contest.

Although the Family Day games are of an exhibition nature one could sense the anxiety of the North Scarborough U12 which was warming up with Trendsetters before the first game because they did not have a program of the days events.

However no sooner than the Academy teams shake hands to end their game the  NSSC and Trendsetters Hawks teams team under head coach Auzzie Smith and Anthony Wickham got their team warmed up and the U-12 division play was on its way.

Wexford United vs Scarborough Utd U-13 Girls contest was the most entertaining game at the Family Day 

VS

Wexford United-Trendsetters Boys U12 teams wore their Family Day T-Shirts for their game

  VS 

The Family Day Saturday closed off with a veteran game between Icepicks (orange) International from New York and Soca FC from Toronto.  As can be seen on the clock the game did not get on the way until 9pm since Trendsetters and Wexford boys were having their final run of fun.

Icepicks started the game impressively as they strung together several passes quite effortlessly around the slow starting Soca team.

However Soca came alive to the latter part of the first half and slowly clawed themselves back into the game in the second half to outlast the weary and tiring Icepicks team. The game was played in constant  rain which fell very heavy towards the end of the game as Soca held on to defeat Icepicks by a score of 3-2.

Stay tune for Track races, more Saturday articles  and

                        Family Day Sunday Info

Hokett Baptist win Jack Warner KO

Hokiest Baptist Primary school won the Jack Warner KO on penalty kicks after they outlasted League winners Chinapoo Government in the 2007 edition of the Caribbean Stars International Morvant Primary School football tournament in Trinidad.

The competition was very keen as Hokett Baptist regrouped after their third place finish in the league to upset Chinapoo in the last game of the season.

Hokett utilized the much needed 12th man advantage when they brought out some of their classes with a few of the parents to gain the upper hand on Chinapoo in the final of the Jack Warner KO. The tactical maneuver by school Principal Mr. Stanley Mahase, and coach Langley worked well. It helped their team defeat a formidable opponent in Chinapoo Government. In spite of the fact that the games are during the day we are hopeful that the trend of parents and pupils attending the games would continue.

Chinapoo Government win Morvant Primary School football league

 At the end of the season the Morvant Primary school football presentation of Awards was held on Saturday November 17,  at the Russell Latapy Secondary school in Morvant.  As mentioned Chinapoo Government won the league shield after finishing third last year. The school endured some hard times but due to the determination of their  Principal Mrs. Carol Bernard, the team managed to overcome their obstacles in time to  represent the District of Morvant in the Zonal competition in Port of Spain.  Chinapoo Government had a tremendous season, as they lead the Morvant league standing from start to finish. They were aggressive from the start of the games and took care of their opponents in a quick and decisive manner.  Chinapoo's tough team defense was lead by Noel Cummings who captured the Best Defender award as he also managed to push forward to score a goal during the season. 

Chinapoo also lead the league in scoring by a wide margin and their main striker and marksman was Dwayne Calliste, son of their parent-coach. Calliste won the Most goals award with 8 goals.

Lower Morvant Government Primary  was voted the Best Discipline team, based on their punctuality and outstanding sportsmanship in spite of the outcome of their games. Lower Morvant also won the Best Dress team award and was instrumental in making the 2007 Primary school tournament a lot of fun. Lower Morvant team was the sentimental choice of the adults that attended the games as they had the smallest players in the tournament and played every game down to the final whistle.

Last year's league champion St Dominic's RC with Principal Ms. Jones-Simon (below), did not fear as well this year although their team played very consistent. It seemed like their team had trouble in taking their game to the next level compared to their championship year.  Nevertheless St Dominic RC was still good enough to secure second place in the league.

In the individual category, Hoksett Baptist Aaron Enill won the Best Goalkeeper award while his team mate Ezekiel Issac claimed the MVP award.

In picture below are some of the Morvant Primary school All Stars players who were recognized for their exceptional play during the 2007 football season

Stay Tuned for more pictures of the individual winners of the 2007 edition of the Caribbean Stars International Morvant Primary school competition

Caribbean Stars Sports & Family Day

Caribbean Stars Sports & Family Day took place at Birchmount Stadium on Saturday July 7, 2007. This year there was a noticeable increase in the kids to adults ratio, although there was a drop in the attendance compared to previous year

The Family Day was musically challenged by the surprised appearance of panistand steel pan extraordinaire, Earl La Pierre Jr. ("Eman") for the better part of an hour to the delight of the crowd.

The inflatable games were a hit with the kids and at the end of the event it was agreed that the technicians for the inflatable games had to dismantle the games one at a time as not to disappoint the kids. The "Batman" and "Slide' inflatable games were a first for the Family Day event.

 Our sponsor Nestle Milo was also present giving out taste test of their Milo drink together with many other of their giveaways. They also installed their shooting cage periodically to the delight of the kids.

The Western Union "Spin the Wheel' tent erected by Jermaine Granville was an instant hit with both adults and kids. The game was designed to give participants prizes in relation to where the wheel stopped.

Next to Western Union was the Youths Deserve a Chance to Dream (YDCD) table headed by Marion Magloire, (mother of NBA All Star Jamal Magloire) who with her staff, were handing out information literature about the foundation and special treats for the kids. Marion Magloire and the YDCD foundation was the sole donator of the medals to the winners of the track races.

             The Family Day had a few unwelcome surprises in that some  of the teams which had committed their participation only days prior to the event were no shows.

To compensate Clairlea, Malvern, Brampton and Toronto Eagles boy's took the opportunity to display their talent with the added time. 

Caribbean Stars would like to thank our sponsor Nestle Canada and every one that helped make the Family Day a success. We are encouraged by the tender ages of the kids at the Family Day this year which means that we have etched fond memories in the minds of our youths. 

 Caribbean Stars would also like to say a special thank you to Marion Magloire for presenting the medals to the track winners at the Family Day and her contribution to the community in general. 

"Youth Deserve a Chance to Dream" founder Marion Magloire with U-13 track winner

Ian Wharton"Coach of the Year"

Ian Wharton, coach and teacher of the Morvant New primary died on Monday October 23, 2006, after he was struck by lightening while attending to his girl’s teams in severe rain. Caribbean Stars of Canada worked with Ian Wharton, at the Morvant Primary School  tournament 2006 in Trinidad, and we found him to be a extremely generous and genuine person.

Our last meeting with Ian was on Friday October 6, 2006 at the Morvant Savannah in T&T when he coached his team, Morvant New Government to win the prestigious Jack Warner Knock Out trophy. Although he was unable to attend the presentation of awards that Sunday, his focus, support, and commitment to Morvant New Government Primary school boys and girls football/soccer program was invaluable.  In light of his contributions, Caribbean Stars has taken the opportunity (if permitted) to name the Coach of the Year award in Ian Wharton’s name.

The award would be called the “Ian Wharton Coach of the Year Award” and Ian is the first winner of the award.  Ian improved his team performance from a third place finish in the opening March Pass Parade, to an undefeated second place finish in the league, and clinched the Jack Warner Knock Out to close the 2006 season.  For us this personifies his perseverance, commitment, and leadership as a coach

Ian Wharton was a positive influence to all with whom he came in contact, and we believe that commemorating the “Coach of the Year Award” in his name will help raise the standard for primary school coaches. He reinforced our belief that a good coach for the most part can have a tremendous influence on the youth

Ian Wharton positive attitude was reflected in his team play and his creativity was displayed at the Morvant Primary school games. At the boy’s games it was his custom to allow the girl team players to attend in support of the boy’s team and at the halftime he would allow the girls to conduct the boys huddle                                       

 Ian was also well liked by his fellow coaches and because of this he gained the unanimous vote to allow the members of his girl’s team to participate in the Jack Warner Knock Out

  He was indeed open to ideas, accommodating and close to his players. He also assisted the Russell Latapy Secondary school girl’s football/soccer team by accepting exhibition games with his girl’s team in order to help the Latapy girl’s team sharpen up for their debut in the Secondary school league competition

 On behalf of Caribbean Stars, Morvant Primary School Principals, and the Coaches we would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Ian Wharton’s family, and everyone affected by his sudden death.  We pray that in time they will be able to cope with his sudden loss and take comfort that Ian will be remembered when we reflect on the fond memories of the Morvant Primary 2006 football/soccer season.   God Bless!

St Dominic's RC win Morvant Primary

Caribbean Stars International presentation of the Morvant Primary School Football Competition opened with a March Pass Parade on Saturday September 23, 2006.  The competition was officially launched  with the kick off of the ball by Mr. Jack Warner, FIFA vice president and Chief Advisor to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation. The tournament closed off with the Jack Warner Knock Out, on Friday October 6, 2006.

In winners circle was Morvant Anglican- March Pass, St Dominic’s RC- League Champions, Morvant New Government- Jack Warner Knock Out, and Hokett Baptist- Best Discipline.  The individual award winners were Andell Andrews -Most Goals from New Morvant Gov’t, Moabba Franklyn (Best Defender) from Chinapoo Gov’t, William Alexander-Best Goalkeeper from New Morvant, and Nkosi David-(Dennis Lawrence) MVP trophy from Lower Morvant.

The competition was keen from the start and throughout the tournament. It started with a two point winner of the 100 points total for the March Pass and stretched to a winner of the league on the last day of the schedule. and a Knock Out winner on sudden death penalty kicks. The talent level of the players also made the individual awards a difficult task for the officials.

As mentioned it all came down to the last day of the league and St Dominic’s was up against second place New Morvant with a (St Dominic’s) 2 points lead. With three points for a win one could imagine this game was a must win for Morvant New. To add to the excitement the Chinapoo team was present for the game praying for a tie because they were also tied for second place on points but in third on goal difference. However  St Dominic’s opened the scoring and  New Morvant came back and tied the game 1-1 and as a result they were eliminated from league contention.

Chinapoo Government was up next to play Lower Morvant and they had to win by 2 goals clear in the game to win the league. Unfortunately Chinapoo Government lost by a score of 2-0. The game came down to a showcase between the league best defender in Moabba Franklyn and the League’s MVP, Nkosi David.  They face each other on several occasions in the game but for the most part Moabba held his defensive ground. However in sports situation change quickly and after Lower Morvant scored on Chinapoo early, Moabba was asked to support the attack.

This strategy backfire on Chinapoo due to the fact that Lower Morvant second goal came as a direct result of that move.  It was Nkosi second attempt at passing defender Moabba and  one can say that he learned fast by his lack of success from trying to dribble Noabba minutes earlier. On his second attempt he moving back in his defensive position in a one and one situation and instead of trying the dribble he wisely decided change speed with a hesitation that was enough to accelerate across Moabba that gave him enough space to shoot around this defender into the net at the last post. That was one of the many classic moves by the young players in the competition.

With Chinapoo losing St Dominic’s RC and their classes marched back to school (200 metres away) singing and rejoicing. They were the Morvant Primary School League champions and as such they will represent Morvant, at the Port of Spain “Zonal” competition.

 In the Knock Out, league favorite New Morvant took matters into their own hands by rebounding from their two second place finishes to captured the Jack Warner KO after defeating Morvant AC (Anglican) in the final on penalty kicks.  

 All Stars players were selected towards the end of the league and the Stars are in training under Coach Anthony "Prowler" Streets for final selection to travel to Canada.  Anthony  is a resident of Morvant and he is also the coach of Superstar Rangers of the T&T Pro League.

At this time Caribbean Stars would like to thank the Ministry of Education, T&T Football Federation, Morvant Constituency Office, Principals, Coaches, Parents, Referees, Supporters and most of all the players for making the event a success.

Event Management : Yvonne Constantine Welch, Victor McGill, Val Sebro and Event Coordinator Aldwyn McGill

Italia Shooters Upset Serbian White Eagles

Trinidad and Tobago-born 18 year old Anthony Adur, the youngest player on the field scored the lone goal at the 62 minute mark to help Italia Shooters upset Serbian White Eagles to win the Canadian Soccer League championship. The game was played at Ester Shiner Stadium on Sunday before a close to sell out crowd that comprised of predominantly Serbian supporters. The game was a very exciting contest  with lots of action and a run of play that went back and forth. The early surprise was that Italia Shooters was holding their own against the powerful Serbians attack but the fact that the Shooters had the better scoring opportunities after a 0-0 first half was good for the game. This was the Shooters fourth attempt at the league championship in as many years and sum up their thinking “something had to give”

Something did, and this seemed to be the Shooters year. They defeated arguably the #2 teams in the Toronto Croatia to get to the final and by their it also appeared that they prepared well for this game. Tactically Italia made adjustments to their team that seem questionable but did they work. One move that worked to perfection was a position change to their offensive player and 2005 League MVP (T&T born) Desmond Humphrey. He was played in the central defense position where he constructed their offensive plays by spraying long precise passes to both flankers in the first half. This strategy seemed to confuse the Serbians and caught their defense off balance on a number of occasions in the first half.
The second half was similar to the first with Serbians turning up the offense a notch and Italia using the counter attack more frequently. It was from one of those counter attacks that Anthony Adur broke free and unleash a volley from close up to give Italia the lead they never relinquished. In the dying moments of the game one could tell it was not the Serbians night when one of their headers from within the six yard box rebound off the upright with the Shooters goalkeeper beaten. However these chances were not as frequent as the Serbian White Eagles would have liked due to the defensive efforts of the Italia Shooters that proved to be the difference in the game

Kwesi Loney another Positive for our Community

One week ago a young soccer player from our community has followed in the footsteps of his father by being in the winners circle for a third consecutive time.  The player name is none other that Mr. Kwesi Loney. He was very instrumental in securing three major championships for his Ottawa St Anthony’s Italia team. In doing so he helped his club create history by winning the Ontario Cup, Canada Cup, and the National Championship in Vancouver Some of us might know what it was like to win a major championship, but for those of you who have not winning three of the most prestigious trophies in Canada is unmatched thus far. St Anthony's dethroned GS United of Scarborough in the Ontario Cup final and went on and prove they were worthy by bringing back to Ontario the National ChampionshipKwesi is the son of Anthony Loney who was one of the foundation players of the (defunct) Iere Sports Club over the years and a winner of numerous goal scoring titles in his long illustrious career. Similar to his father Kwesi is a crafty player but unlike his dad, his left foot is his bread and butter. He can play all positions but has been a reliable defensive player. He does move forward with confidence and he has developed a tremendous long throw-in that was one of the offensive trade marks of the now defunct dominant Ottawa Wizards team. Kwesi was a member of the Wizards when they won the CSL (formerly called the Canadian Professional Soccer League back to back in 2002-03. Just maybe the Canadian national selector will put his name of the tryout list

His mother is Mrs. Tressa Hislop Loney, cousin of Shaka Hislop and it is comes as no surprise that Kwesi has evolved into a terrific soccer player and a well rounded young man. He is willing to take things in stride and ladies he can be reached at 416-Ohshucks or 613-AH Forget In our community there is a tremendous amount of talent but somehow there seem to be a lack of time allotted or a lack of interest shown towards our youths.  Caribbean Stars has taken the initiative to bring to you a few names from our talent pool and in the upcoming months we will keep you updated

 Caribbean Stars International Tournament
Caribbean Stars International Tournament will kick off on Saturday 23 September 2006 at Morvant savannah in Port of Spain Trinidad. The day’s event will start with a March pass of the seven Morvant Primary schools followed by a Round Robin between the schools to end the day’s event.

Originally the tournament was organized for the Boys but due to the enthusiasm experienced and ideas generated from the Operations Committee meeting on May 8, 2006, a decision was made to include a Girls division in the tournament. However the number of participant will be less than the boys due to the lack of a girl’s football at the older ages in a couple of the schools but the schools have committed the girls to the March Pass together with the boys.

The Regular season league matches will begin from Tuesday September 28, and run on Tuesdays through Fridays until a winner is declared to represent Morvant in East Zone.
The Organizing Committee will like to request the assistance of all media, schools, businesses and parents to help make the event a positive venture and a means of getting the youths united as a family to be a worthy representation of the District of Morvant . The objective of the venture is to recognize the best discipline school in relation to the winner by virtue of ability, and to attract the entire district of Morvant to the Grand Opening on Saturday September 23, 2006.
The project has been endorsed by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and sanctioned by the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Education to represent the Morvant in the East Zone qualification and is intended to organize the winners and/or All Star teams to participate in the Robbie International of the Scarborough Soccer Association and the Caribbean Stars Sports and Family Day.

Stars to launch Morvant Int’l Tournament

Caribbean Stars of Toronto Canada has taken the initiative to establish an International Tournament beginning with a pilot project between Malvern Youth Club of Toronto, Canada, and the Primary Schools of the Morvant Trinidad, West Indies. Members of the organization committee (which includes principals of the schools seen above) met last Friday and gave the green light to kick off in September 2006, as planned.

The project has been endorsed by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and sanctioned by the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Sports. The project is intended to spread throughout the entire Caribbean and Canada. Morvant and Malvern have been selected as the pilot areas due to the negative publicity the districts have received due to the violent crimes reported via the National media. 

Caribbean Stars has been successful in getting the support and blessing of World Cup bound Soca Warrior Dennis Lawrence for the project, and he is looking forward to helping when his schedule allows. Dennis has lived in Coconut Drive, Morvant for 25 years.

He attended Morvant New Government Primary School and his efforts is based on giving back to his roots. In his speech at the Warriors welcome reception at Piarco Airport after the Bahrain victory he was hopeful that the historic event (of qualifying for Germany) will help Trinidad and Tobago unite and somehow put an end to the gun violence and crime that has taken over the country.  He also agreed to his name being used for the MVP trophy.

The initial stage of the MPSFL project will be starting with the seven schools in September. The Tournament will open with a March Pass Parade geared towards brining out the entire district of Morvant.  The seven Primary Schools competing wiil be: Morvant R.C. Morvant Anglican, Chinapoo Government, Lower Morvant Government, Morvant New Government, Maryland RC, and Hokett Baptist. 

At the end of the season an All Star team will be selected from the participating schools to travel to Canada in 2007 to compete against Malvern and surrounding Youth Clubs.  

Scarborough National Malvern Soccer Club has offered to support the project and is anxiously awaiting the visiting Morvant All Star team.  North Scarborough Youth Soccer Club is also keen on the idea and is making arrangements for their 2007 scheduling. A meeting of the Operational Committee comprised of the coaches, managers, referee coordinator, local, and international coordinators is scheduled for the first week of May to finalize the rules and schedule of the tournament. For more information email info@caribbeanstars.com 

Parents, get Involved 

In anticipation of the upcoming soccer season, our community teams should be concerned due to the lack of commitment shown by their players last season.  Maybe with the excitement of the World Cup and its momentum carrying through into the season players will commit early and stick it out for the entire season. Some players were moving away from their structured clubs and forming their own teams with little or no leadership. Other players were playing for up to 4 teams which was probably a reflection of the short lived success they had at some of the indoor soccer money tournaments that required a minimum number of players and a maximum of friend picks. Players of today change teams like they changing their underwear. In contrast back in the day, commitment was attributed to payment of a club’s annual membership dues combined with the passion for the game, player pride, and love for club that only injury or unforeseen circumstances could have prevented a player from completing the season. In contrast today teams make unbelievable concessions for players and thus experience their so called super stars transform into super scars.

  Is it possible that the background of most of these non committed players may be traced to parents who enroll their kids in programs and end up too busy to attend their practices, and games? We have seen the entire attitude of kids with lack of parental support changed drastically from keen interested players to confused and troubled youths. In some cases their troubled phase were compounded with acquisition of new friends with questionable interest and ulterior motives. In most cases the troubled kids were the ones with the exceptional talent while the kids with supportive parents but limited skills feared much better in life.

Parents for the upcoming season commit some time to the activities of your child and attend their games because decisions are made by others that may affect your child life. For one it could be your golden opportunity to learn more about your child’s character and their other friends away from school. Stop taking the easy route by arranging to have coaches or other parents pick up and drop your kids off when they have practices or competitive games when you can make it. Go out and support your kids because contrary to what some media will like you to believe, a link to society breakdown has little to do with the areas you live in.  In 2005 the much publicized bad spots in Toronto such as Scarborough produced a National Champion senior team in GS United and 5 marquee players. Dwayne De Rosario, Julian De Guzman and Adrian Serioux were all members of the Canadian Men’s National Soccer team, while Desmond Humphrey and Emil Calixterio were the 2005 MVP’s of the Canadian Professional Soccer League and the Ontario Soccer League respectively. They all lived and developed their skills around the Malvern and North Scarborough Youth Clubs. Their awards were accomplished as a direct result of continued parental support and players committed to a season.

On the International soccer scene Dennis Lawrence of the Trinidad and Tobago World Cup bound Soca Warriors lives in a Coconut Drive in the district of Morvant which is classified as one of the crime infested areas of the country. That did not stop him in his aspirations not did it stop him from scoring the lone goal against Bahrain to send his country to the World Cup.