PROOF IN THE PUDDING- Mount Pleasant sporting director sees number of national U20 reps as a good sign

Mount Pleasant Football Academy holds the distinction of being the Jamaican club with the most players selected to be part of the upcoming Concacaf Men’s U20 Championship.
Paul Christie, sporting director at Mount Pleasant, said this was no surprise as the club is committed to developing the Caribbean’s next generation of elite players.
Of the seven players selected, two will represent Jamaica while the remaining five players will represent Haiti.
Jamaica College standout Jabarie Howell and Owen Jumpp are the Jamaican representatives while Franco Celestin, Miguel Joseph, Emerson Laisse, Dieuvens Resil and Clifford Gene will complete the Haitian contingent.
Christie said their selections are proof of Mount Pleasant’s mandate of developing top athletes and world-class talent.
“Here at Mount Pleasant, the mandate is to try to create future leaders of the Caribbean through the medium of football. Though the dynamics are difficult, we still try to offer them elite training and, as our students as well, the best education.”
While Mount Pleasant are proud of the number of players selected, Christie said this is just a fraction of the international players at the club.
He explained that a number of their players had also competed in the Concacaf Men’s U20 Qualifiers, playing for other Caribbean countries like Belize and St Lucia.
Christie also explained there are a number of Jamaican players who have represented the country at the U20 level but did not make the final cut.
“These are actually just the players that are onto the next phase of the World Cup qualifying,” he explained
“You would have missed players from Belize, St Lucia and so on and so forth, who played in the qualifiers.”
He continued, “Even in Jamaica, we would have had a couple more call-ups. We would have had five players in the Jamaica U20 squad but, you know how it goes, some players would have lost form, players would have gotten injured and all of those things.”
SERVING THE REGION
Christie said the club’s model of developing youth players is one of the best in the region and believes it has benefitted not just Jamaica, but the Caribbean at large.
He pointed to a number of their Haitian players who competed at last year’s FIFA Men’s U17 World Cup, and said a number of their players have again qualified for the U17 World Cup for both Jamaica and Haiti.
Christie believes their success will encourage more players who wish to succeed to join their academy and ensure Mount Pleasant continues to be the Caribbean’s football conveyor belt.
“We believe that the model that we are creating here at Mount Pleasant will serve Jamaica and the Caribbean well,” he said.
“Evidently, we have a quality organisation here in the Caribbean at Mount Pleasant. We have the most players at the youth level for the respective member associations, whether it is Jamaica, whether it is Trinidad, whether it is Belize, or whether it is St Lucia.
“What we’re trying to do here is to try to create a hub with elite training and elite athletes so that they can strengthen their respective member associations and that is the mandate here at Mount Pleasant.”
The Concacaf Men’s U20 Championship is set to run from July 25 through to August 9, with Jamaica drawn in Group C while Haiti will contest Group A.
gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com