Pro Shottas bring home big win

After close to ten years of missing out on international glory, Pro Shottas Soccer School have finally found their way back with a win in the Chicago Kics Cup. 

 

The local football academy had three teams in Illinois for the tournament, and the Under-14 squad was able to win the championship from a field of highly competitive opponents.

 

Speaking to The Barbados Advocate yesterday, Coach of the victorious Under-14 team Corey Barrow said that it felt good to finally be part of a winning outfit under the club banner. 

 

“It is overwhelming for me because as a player I did not get a chance to win an international tournament, having also played with Professional Soccer School – now Pro Shottas. I was always second-best. I lost in finals all the time and to me, it feels like more to win it as a coach than as a player,” he said.

 

With the tournament running from July 7 to 10, the lads won all five of their games after just two practice games to acclimatise to the style of play. In the final, the champions went in blind as they were unable to have previously seen their opponents as they advanced out of different groups. Of the four-three encounter, Barrow said that he knew his boys would bring it home early on in the exchange. 

 

“The guys were confident knowing that we had just beaten the host team in the semi-final. They knew they could do it and with a little motivational speech, they went out and did it. They went one down early on in the game and within the next 30 seconds, they equalised. So I knew from there that we were going to win the tournament,” he said.

 

Under-16 coach Fabian Massiah is currently on vacation in the United States and was not present at yesterday’s ceremony.

 

Head Coach Greg Castagne revelled in his club's first international win since 2007, and explained that this tour helped to put the island on the radar. He said that much of the opposition was pleasantly surprised as such a high quality of play was not expected from Barbados because it is a small island. He also added that other clubs were interested in coming to Barbados and that the academy had plans for a showcase tournament next year. 

 

“The host club usually goes to Puerto Rico and they recognised that they would like to come to Barbados because the opposition from Barbados was much stronger than from Puerto Rico this year in each age category. The Under-14s brought home the bacon but the Under-16s reached the finals and lost on penalties, seven-six. The Under-12s, even though they got knocked out in a playoff, the team that beat them reached the American Youth Soccer Association national final, so this is a very good team that beat them one-love, and this is their first international tour. 

 

“So all-round, it was a very successful tour and for me personally, it shows that Barbados has the capability at this stage to compete with some of the best clubs in the States. Once we keep them in a programme that is progressing in major areas and they get involved in national youth teams, it can only augur well for the future,” Castagne said.   

 

(MP)