DESPITE Ballaz Academy winning yet another youth tournament, Director of Football Paul Alexander says they’re more focused on holistic development as they prepare their players for the future.

Ballaz were crowned overall champions of The Youth Football league’s Next Cup 2026 at the UWI Mona Bowl last week.

The tournament, which featured teams from the corporate and rural areas, saw Ballaz win the Under-9, Under-11 and Under-13 titles.

While impressed with his teams’ showing, Alexander says he wants more from the players as they continue to progress.

“We also want to stretch the boys because it can also be a two-sided coin where complacency can creep in. We don’t want a situation where they are always winning. We want situations where they are struggling, because so much growth can happen in the struggle,” he told the
Jamaica Observer.

“So this is one reason why we also look for games outside of just local tournaments and really try and put them in environments that really challenge and stretch them, because we understand that winning is not the only measure of whether or not they are grasping what they need to grasp at this age.”

Over more than two decades Ballaz has built a strong record of youth titles, but Alexander says losing is just as important as the academy prepares players for life in and out of football.

“Every aspect of the journey is a teachable moment. The reality is that they’re not going to win everything, and as they progress through the journey it becomes a lot harder and the losses are not always necessarily on the field,” he said. “So, for example, as they get older there’s going to be moments where a kid who used to be guaranteed playing time at 12 [years old] now gets into high school and he has to be competing for his position. And if he doesn’t understand how to manage those challenges and not frame it as losing but as an opportunity to grow, he or she is going to have a challenge later on in life.

“So part of the development is also psychological, so how we frame our conversations around losing and winning is very important. So even when we win, how do we frame that conversation for them to understand the whole journey of winning? And equally when we lose, just framing the conversation.”

Jamaica Football Federation Director of Football Andrew Peart praised Ballaz and the other teams involved in the Next Cup tournament, and says the local governing body will continue to assist youth initiatives.

“Like the Next Cup, we’ll have scouts there, we’ll have coaches who go and watch, who can recommend players. We also support through endorsing, and what the academies right across Jamaica [do] — in terms of facilitating development — is they’re providing opportunities for training, competitions, and that’s what we need. As time goes by we’ll support more in terms of maybe even resources, balls and workshops for the coaches who are leading teams in those environments.”

Paul Alexander, Ballaz Academy director of football