SOUNDING almost disgusted at the way youth football, in particular, has been treated with, National Under-20 Head Coach John Wall has affirmed his commitment to lead the country to a new paradigm to improve the prospects of player development.

To start and, by extension, underline his intentions the Swedish-born coach hosted a two-day camp which is aimed at keeping the country’s top Under-20 talent together more consistently, as opposed to the old and familiar paradigm of assembling players a few weeks before a tournament.

Still, Wall is under no illusion that the results of their efforts will show immediately, but is optimistic that the rewards will eventually come to the fore during the four-year-long task he took on with senior Reggae Boyz Head Coach Heimir Hallgrimsson.

“The purpose is to do it more frequently instead of just the one-time bang like the tournament build-up Jamaica has been doing in the past,” Wall declared.

“That doesn’t lead you to longer improvement but I think by being into it on a more frequent basis is going to pay dividends so, obviously, it’s not going to show instantly but over a period of time it will.

“So for every decision we make on a youth level going forward it’s going to take five to seven years before you see the evidence of it. That’s the game that we are playing. So, it’s not necessarily making amends for what was done in the past but just guiding and helping the players a lot more,” he added.

Of the 15 players called only 11 turned out on Wednesday’s first day of the camp which ended on Thursday, with Romain Blake and Dujuan “Whisper” Richards both overseas while goalkeepers Anthony Bennett and Ackerman Bernard were also absent.

During the two-hour session at the UWI-JFF Captain Horace Burrell Centre of Excellence, Wall took the players through various technical and tactical drills.

With no tournament undertaking in sight the coach, who has worked through the ranks of the football pyramid of his homeland, stressed that the move to host a camp now forms the bigger picture of the direction in which they want to take Jamaica’s football.

“I think it’s a bigger play overall and everyone has to play their part; it’s a matter of the clubs and federation working together. On a national team level we obviously have to get started a bit early. My perspective — cause I gladly have a outside-inside perspective — is that we have to, not necessarily intervene but be a a part of every player and club’s life a little bit earlier and work together with all parties, and that includes the school systems too,” Wall explained.

He continued: “But generally speaking, 9-12 is a pretty important age to start if we are talking about player development. If we don’t get that right then it’s going to be pretty hard to catch up.

“Whatever problems — and there are always problems — we have to just accept it. It’s hard to just intervene or make a change where the current age group, as it is right now, is concerned. That would be like you’re trying to fight the symptoms but you’re not actually curing the disease, if we can compare it to that. It’s not a bad thing but I think, generally, we have to do it more consistently. We have to take up more of an educational role within the national system to actually develop the players in a better way.

That said, Wall believes with the new move to improve the country’s football product the ball is in the players’ court to ensure they grasp every opportunity to not only learn, but more importantly apply those lessons when called to camp.

“It is [for the players to take the lessons and grow] but right now a benchmark for me with these players is actually whether or not they are in a first-team environment. The benchmark that I have been looking for is 300 minutes plus in the Premier League. If they don’t have that much minutes then I go a little bit down, but they have to be in a senior environment — we cannot aim for less. It’s time to go for the facts and discuss that instead of debate opinions. I am not about that,” the coach, who also had stints as Iceland’s video analyst in the past, argued.

Ahir Dixon, who captained the National Under-17 team at a recent tournament, was among those who welcomed the call-up.

“Leading your team at any age level is an honour; it was a good experience. I have alot of memories from that outing — some good and some bad — so I just have to take those and learn from them.

“Being a part of this camp is a step in the right direction so it’s time for consistency, more commitment and desire, so this will be good for me as I continue my growth towards the senior level, hopefully. I am looking forward to working with Coach Wall, and whatever system he introduces I’ll do my best to adapt to it,” Dixon shared.

Players: Asher Hutchinson (GK) Arnett Gardens, Ackerman Bernard (GK) Phoenix Academy, Anthony Bennett (GK) Harbour View FC, Romain Blake (DF) Waterhouse FC, Ahir Dixon (DF) Mount Pleasant, Devonte Hodges (DF) Dunbeholden FC, David Edwards (DF) Waterhouse, Christopher Ainsworth (MF) Cavalier FC, Omario Henry (MF) Cavalier FC, Jerome Mcleary (MF) Cavalier FC, Malachi Douglas (MF) Dunbeholden FC, Kaheim Dixon (MF) Chapleton Maroons FC, Dujuan Richards (FWD) Phoenix Academy, Cleo Clarke (FWD) Cavaliers, Diego McKenzie (FWD) Tivoli Gardens.