TORONTO, Canada — It might not be as tragic as MH370, the Malaysian aircraft which went missing earlier this year, but Omar Holness, Jamaica’s promising captain of the team which qualified for the 2011 Under-17 World Cup in Mexico, has been under the proverbial radar ever since.

Now 20 years old and a sophomore at the University of North Carolina, Holness has been granted a senior Reggae Boyz call-up by head coach Winfried Schaefer and the versatile midfielder is planning to grasp the opportunity with both hands as he was expected to feature in last evening’s friendly internationmal against Canada at the BMO Field here in Toronto, Canada.

The young Reggae Boy was ecstatic when he met Schaefer at breakfast Monday morning and there was an air of confidence when he spoke to reporters shortly after.

“This is my first call-up and it is a privilege to be here to be a part of the group and I’m just going to go out there and do my best,” he said.

“Mentally, I think I’m ready. I think I’m prepared because college football has prepared me somewhat for it. A lot of people may underrate college football, but I believe that set-up there has prepared me mentally for it,” insisted the economics major, who says his main priority is to pursue a career in professional football whether in Major League Soccer in the United States of America, or elsewhere.

Standing at six feet and tipping the scale at 178lbs, Holness has gained experience playing in Costa Rica, as well as having training stints at Sunderland and Bolton Wanderers FC in England.

“What college football has taught me is just maturity,” he said. “It is a big step, but at the same time I don’t feel overburdened by it. College football gives me all the professional needs and necessities for me to make the step, so I think I’m more than prepared for it, not overly nervous about it, but it should be an interesting one.”

The highly intelligent player believes that his leadership role at the youth levels, having played both at Under-17 and Under-20, has also shaped him for his transition to the senior stage.

“Well, definitely, leadership is one of my main traits… for me to lead the team in the U-17s that was a great achievement on my part, but at the same time it taught me a lot; it taught me how to do a lot of different things and I guess for me now in this stage, being here with the senior team, I just need to relay that over into the senior set-up and not be nervous or anything like that.”

At the Under-17 World Cup in Mexico, Jamaica played against France, Argentina and Japan, with France going on to lift the Under-20 World Cup two years later under the leadership of Paul Pogba, who was an important member of the France senior World Cup team in Brazil in the summer. Pogba is also a crucial member of Juventus’s Serie A championship team.

“That was the most important thing for me playing against that opposition and it definitely showed me where I needed to be and where I wanted to be,” reflected Holness, who has looked on as his Under-17 batchmate Alvas Powell made the transition to the senior international level and indeed the professional ranks with Portland Timbers in the US Major League Soccer.

For Holness, it could have been oh so different, had it not been for a serious injury he picked up.

Shortly after the World Cup in Mexico, Holness, the former Wolmer’s Boys’ Manning Cupper tore his ACL in his right leg and required surgery in October of that year.

The injury sidelined him for nearly 12 months, during which time he had to ask himself if he really wanted to continue playing football. But he endured and made the sometimes-hard trek through recovery.

Now he believes that he has the tools to lend support to the Reggae Boyz set-up.

“In all honesty, I could be used as a utility player, but I think I’m most comfortable in an attacking midfield role, but again I can play a central midfield role as well,” he said.

And he is hoping to see some of his teammates from 2011 make the transition to the senior level, though he believes that those players have the responsibility to prepare themselves as best as they can.

In about 23 games last year, Holness registered four assists and two goals for his school, playing from central midfield, and his hope now is to improve those numbers when given a chance at the senior level.

Coach Schaefer is fully aware of the importance of youth as he builds for the Russia 2018 World Cup Finals, and if Holness and his batchmates exhibit the requisite skills, then they will be assured of an opportunity to at least stake a claim in the national colours.