Physical trainer gives Young Girlz passing grade
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — After a recovery session in the pool yesterday, physical trainer Harry Nelson said that the young Reggae Girlz are fit and ready for their crucial encounter against Trinidad and Tobago at the Stade Sylvio Cator Stadium today, starting at 4:30 pm (3:30 pm Jamaica time).
The Jamaicans are in a must-win contest if they are to have a chance to qualify for the CONCACAF Championship next year.
Bermuda lead the group on four points, Trinidad and Tobago are next on a point, and the Jamaicans are at the bottom without a point.
The recovery session was conducted yesterday at the Kinam Hotel in Place Saint Pierre, Port-au-Prince, where the team is being housed, and according to Nelson, the young Reggae Girlz well fared.
“They responded well. The recovery session was excellent, it was very good. At the end of the recovery session, when the girls came out of the pool, everyone was walking spritely, so I think that the recovery session [went] well.
“The recovery helps a lot, especially for the bigger muscles. Because it is an asphalt turf they will be playing on, we want to take them off the turf a bit to ensure that there are no pain in their knees. Get them doing some mobility movements in the pool and to get them going and flowing,” he said.
Nelson said the aim is to get the players in the best state of readiness for the next assignment.
“We knew that we lost a game the other day, and so we have to make sure they are fully prepared and well-recovered for the game against Trinidad and Tobago… that is a must-win game and if we win that, we are in the play-offs, and if we win the play-offs we are in the CONCACAF zone.
“We used ice baths as well right after the game and we used the pool today — more active for the game,” Nelson told the Jamaica Observer.
Nelson noted that lack of fitness is not a concern for the young Reggae Girlz.
“The girls are 90 per cent fit. They are the fittest team in the tournament right now and they are the fastest as well.
“When I looked at the comparison between them (Jamaica) and the Bermuda team, 55 minutes into the game Bermuda team was literally down on the ground, crying for cramps; not one Jamaican cried for cramps, cried for any pain,” he noted.
— Ruddy Allen
