PRESS RELEASE – Castries boys dominated the Flow Skills Challenge, with youngsters from VSADC and F.C. Pioneers booking their way to the finals in Trinidad and Tobago next month, where they will pit their talents against the best young players from the rest of the Caribbean.
An exciting morning at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground ended in a head-to-head skills contest between Ethan Devaux of Valley Soccer Academy and Benerrero “Beno” Wellington of VSADC. And it was Marchand’s Wellington who eventually won the 14-16 division, out-juggling Devaux at the finish.
Beno, aged 15, a student of Bocage Secondary, will wing his way to the Land of the Hummingbird in a few weeks. The teenaged defender will be joined by his mother, Shantel Barklette, and VSADC youth coach, Cassim “Vaso” Louis.
Also travelling to the twin-island republic will be Ajani Hippolyte. A midfielder for Babonneau Secondary and F.C. Pioneers, he won the 12-13 category, and will journey alongside his mother, Nicole Hippolyte, and Pioneers coach, Vincent Boland.
In Trinidad and Tobago, Beno and Ajani will work closely with coaches from the Manchester United Soccer School. They will vie for the chance to win a VIP trip to Old Trafford, home of Manchester United, and watch a Premier League match live.
Nearly seventy up-and-coming youth footballers were tested in the Saint Lucia leg of the Flow Skills Challenge. The programme is put together by Flow and Manchester United Football Club and supported by the Caribbean Football Union (CFU).
Flow Saint Lucia Communications Specialist, Terry Finisterre, said: “This was a really wonderful exercise. Great weather, some truly talented kids, and a terrific opportunity for Beno and Ajani. We are really very proud of these two young men. We are pushing for them to make it all the way to Old Trafford, the Theatre of Dreams, where they will be able to meet Manchester United stars, visit the museum, watch a game, and so much more.
“Clearly, Castries football is doing something right, with two boys making the Flow Skills final. You also have to keep in mind that VSADC veterans won the Flow Plate Trophy. But football is thriving island-wide, because you have had Soufriere winning the Caribbean Alliance Gold Cup, and Vieux Fort South winning the Blackheart competition, both sponsored by Flow.”
Other than Saint Lucia, the Flow Skills challenge is being held in Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks & Caicos, and Dominica.