The spirit of Christmas recently visited two football clubs in Barbados and whenever football is given the green light to resume, Kickstart Rush Football Club and Wotton FC will have a variety of new pieces of equipment to use to develop their players.
Last Wednesday, Sayce Holmes-Lewis, Manager and founder of Mentivity, a British mentoring agency, donated equipment to the youth arms of Kickstart Rush and Wotton FC.
Holmes-Lewis is of Jamaican and Barbadian heritage and has devoted his career to assisting youth in sport and education for the last 22 years.
In 2016, the former professional footballer, connected with the Barbados Football Association (BFA) and Crystal Palace to host a showcase, which saw four of youth national players selected to go on a series of trials in England.
Three of those players are currently in the senior national team and one of those three; Nicoli Brathwaite had the pleasure of leading the Academy team of English League Two Club Leyton Orient.
Holmes-Lewis said the project did not evolve as he envisioned, however, he identified another way to impact the sport on the island but more importantly develop the youth.
“It’s a bout providing support for the next generation but it’s also looking at it more strategically and providing equipment, which is very important to helping clubs get started. It’s important that we support these clubs and have a standardized type of philosophy for development”, said Holmes-Lewis.
Holmes-Lewis said he has been coaching and mentoring youth from 16 years old and have been responsible for developing players such as current professionals Jordan Ibe, Jadon Sancho and Reiss Nelson.
He said the work done at the youth and grassroots level is absolutely integral to the growth of football in any country, because that is where the elite players emerge.
Holmes-Lewis listed a strong infrastructure along with a standardized and collective philosophy for youth development as the key ingredients for holistic development of young people regardless of their interest.
With just three weeks of holiday remaining on his holiday, Holmes-Lewis said he is researching and observing but more importantly he is open to help in anyway with the growth of the sport, from community to national team.
He has pledged his support to the island for the long term and said he intends to use his network as much as he can to positively impact youth and sport on the island.
“I’m very close to the players I’ve helped, especially Reiss Nelson. They’re very keen on giving back and I’ll really talk to them once we have a real plan, a strategic plan and then try to get more people on board, but It’s about having a collectivized approach, where we know we all have to chip in, especially during this time".
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