Even after the most cruel of setbacks life goes on, and it is natural human instinct to make the very best of it.

We are reminded of that truism having watched the Reggae Boyz’ performance in a 0-1 loss to the United States a week ago on a cold night in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Readers will recall the sour taste after Jamaica’s national team was dumped last year at the semi-final stage of CONCACAF qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Much has changed since then.

Mr Theodore Whitmore, who replaced Mr Winfried Schaefer of Germany as head coach, has turned to local-based players and several of those born and raised in Jamaica who now campaign professionally in North America. Most of the current players are inexperienced at the international level — some quite young.

Readers will recall the heavy reliance on hardened professionals born and groomed in Britain by Mr Schaefer and others before him.

Mr Whitmore’s current charges were good enough to ensure Jamaica’s qualification for the final round of the Scotiabank CFU Men’s Caribbean Cup as well as the CONCACAF Gold Cup later this year.

That notwithstanding, some experts viewed with trepidation the Reggae Boyz chances against an experienced and hungry USA last weekend.

Truthfully, the Reggae Boyz were guilty too often of tactical naivete, making wrong choices and giving the ball away far too often. It’s obvious that there is great need for tactical as well as technical improvement. Yet, the players’ positive approach against the USA was pleasing. To begin with, they showed no fear, and great commitment. Also, they demonstrated significant speed and verve, especially on the counter, but also in defence.

In football, speed is no panacea. It does not guarantee success, but if it’s used wisely it provides a huge advantage.

This newspaper believes the experiences thus far in the CFU qualification tournament and against the USA suggest the Jamaica Football Federation and Mr Whitmore are on the right path in seeking to rely more on youth and on locally groomed personnel. That does not mean that, all of a sudden, players born and groomed in Britain and elsewhere with an interest in playing for Jamaica should be ignored. On the contrary, as we have said in this space previously, the Jamaican Diaspora has an important role in national development — in sport, as in everything else. The immense value of the diaspora is part and parcel of the Jamaican experience.

However, those who administer the national programme should be extremely methodical and careful in their selection of all players, including those from distant places. It can’t be that a player is invited at great expense to represent Jamaica purely on the basis that he plays professionally in one of the world’s top leagues. It seems to us that commitment, desire, and talent should be carefully — even painstakingly — assessed in equal measure.

Next Thursday, the Reggae Boyz, largely unchanged, will face Honduras in another friendly assignment in Houston, Texas. The expectation should be that they will continue to give their best and show improvement. We can’t reasonably ask for more.