Some members of the Mavericks Sports Club being going through the paces in an etiquette class ahead of their Aurora, Canada tour. A delegation of 60 leave today for 10 days.
New sports academy off on first tour
6/29/2012
Barbados’ newest football academy is wasting no time and has hit the ground running. After only six months of being in existence, the Mavericks Sports Club will leaving the island today to head out to Canada for a 10-day tour. A delegation of 60 persons, inclusive of coaches, administration and a few parents will be flying the Barbadian flag as the first-ever contingent from these shores to take part in the Robbie International Soccer Tournament, which is billed as the leading youth tournament in the world.
The club, which has taken up a mandate to create upstanding citizens using sport as a catalyst, will be using the tour to help further their cause. Not only will the 50 boys and girls from the club be taking part in the tournament, but they will be taking part in several other social event in a bid to further the socially-oriented mindset taught at the club. Speaking to the Barbados Advocate Raphael Holder, one of the club’s directors, explained that aside from the tournament, in which a boys’ Under-14 team and a girls Under-18 team will be participating, the tour served to acclimatize the youngsters to several new things as Canada is a veritable melting-pot. “The tour is another part of our quest to develop the children and to expose them to different cultures, different foods, different people, different ethnic groups. These are the kinds of things that are necessary to create a well-rounded individual.” he said.
With activities ranging from a visit to the Toronto F.C stadium to tours to Niagara Falls and socials with members of the Barbadian community in Canada, Holder added that the tour was the perfect opportunity to expose the children to further development of not only their football skills but their personalities as well.
“That tournament will give the kids some exposure with their football skills, give them a chance to see how they match up with international teams, but they will also get a chance to interact with people from other countries and probably make new friends.” he said. (MP)
