Hokett Baptist defends Jack Warner KO

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Chinapoo wins MPSFL double

In the grand finale of the 5th Annual Morvant Primary School Football League (MPSFL) 2010 season, Chinapoo Government defeated Lower Morvant 3-1 in overtime to win the newly instituted Caribbean Stars Knock Out, which replaces the Jack Warner Knock Out.

Chinapoo also won the league Shield by virtue of a late equalizer which saw them draw with second place Morvant Anglican 1-1 in a crucial league game. It was Morvant Anglican last chance of winning the league as Chinapoo withstood the pressure to secure the league title.

Chinapoo took advantage of their positive start to the season by jumping ahead of the pack with an early lead at the top of the table they never relinquished.

 However, the league title did not come easy for Chinapoo though. They puledl off late heroics to win tight games to finish with a spotless record. Chinapoo got a reality check in their match against Morvant Anglican which many agreed was (Anglican) was playing the best football of the 2010 tournament. However, goal win matches and led by a lethal offensive-defensive combination of Josiah Orr, (league leading goal scorer), and the league best goalkeeper in Mohammed Elias, Chinapoo came up with different ways to dispose of their opponents.

In the game against Morvant Anglican, Chinapoo was  toying with their first loss of the season after trailing 1-0 late in the second half with their Coach of the Year, (Adolphus Joseph) absent from the sidelines. The outcome of the game did not look favourable for Chinapoo untill tthe late goal to to pull off a draw.

Though Morvant Anglican were not as proficient in scoring as Morvant New, they excelled in the area of ball possession which was an area of the game that most of the teams in the Morvant Primary school league were lacking during the season.

Morvant Anglican had a game in hand and trailing Chinapoo by three points heading into the deciding league game. A win would have gone a long way in helping AC in their effort to win their first major trophy since Caribbean Stars version of the MPSF league in 2006.

It was not to be for AC as Chinapoo clinched the league title with a 4-0-1 record for 13 points with Morvant Anglican finishing second with 10 points and Morvant New in third with 9 points from its three wins.

There was a rematch between Morvant AC and Chinapoo in the opening round of the Knock Out and although Morvant Anglican battled to the end by going the full distance, it was Chinapoo which prevailed on penalty kicks.

Honourable mention must be afforded to the determine bunch of players from Morvant New, who showed true grit after losing to Chinapoo in their 2010 season opener. Morvant New continued to improve under their new coach, and was a contending team after finishing the league race with a full head of steam.

New Morvant surprised St Dominic’s RC 2-1 in the opening round of the Knock Out to advance to the semi final of the Caribbean Stars KO.

Hats off to St Dominic’s RC, which maim objective seemed to be one of participation and giving their best effort to win even if it falls short. It is the portrayal of true sportsmanship.

Hokett Baptist is another of the teams in the Morvant Primary school football league which has been consistent with their football program following in the ideals and philosophy of the school policies. Hokett Baptist has supported the MPSFL more than any other school over the years and is truly an asset to the league.

We are pleased that Morvant Anglican is making great progress as a competitor. The school seems to be taking the league more seriously since the Teron Joseph has been appointed Principal. It is possible that Morvant AC can be the team to beat in the MPSFL in 2011.

For us at Caribbean Stars, the effects of the MPSFL in 2010 was real. It was the toughest season in the 5-year history of the league in terms of coordinating the league with time constraints.

The FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup was hosted in Trinidad and Tobago in combination with other things that hindered the league normal progression. Was it not for the assistance of Eggy Entertainment Parlour and Grounds man Carlton  “Lamo” Joseph, the Morvant Primary school league would not have up and running to complete the schedule.

Then there were heavy and persistent rainfalls that made the 2010 MPSFL  the wettest, and that presented major problems to the young players. The rain fell religiously everyday for the length of the tournament and the heavy field was a challenge for the noticeable under size players.

However, while as administrators we had our concerns it seemed like most of the players enjoyed their time in the muddy and sometimes slushy field at Morvant Savannah.

In spite of the weather, the tournament attracted more supporters from outside the school system than previous years. There was a noticeable increase in the turnout of parents especially for the day of the season finale. We took the positive showing to signify that there is interest in just not the boys and girls who participated but in the league as well.

We are hopeful that every parent left the closing day proud of their children efforts, since every player got a chance to strut his or her stuff. It is also important to note that a vast amount of former players in the Primary school league were present on the final day of the league and plans are afoot to have them participate on the  final day for next season.

In the individual awards, Charis Pompey (left) of Morvant Anglican Apostle won the Dennis Lawrence Award as the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for 2010, while Chinapoo’s Mohammed Elias won the Best Goalkeeper award, and Anfernee Stokes of Lower Morvant, the Best Defender award.

Adolphus (Mark) Joseph (seen below) won the (Ian Wharton) Coach of the Year for an unprecedented third Consecutive year. Joseph won the COY Award twice with Lower Morvant (08,09) and now with Chinapoo Government in 2010.

MPSFL 2010 All STARS

Chinapoo Gov’t : Mohammed Elias, (best goalkeeper), Josiah Orr (most goal) Mark Swiss, Jerime Julien

Hokett Baptist: Sheldon Farrel, Khahida Marshall, Stephon Morgan, Malachi Ashby

Lower Morvant : Anfernee Stokes (best defender), Tyrique Riley, Akiel Collins, Nyron Simmons

Morvant A.C. : Charis Pompey (MVP), Kern Thomas, Obediah Jack, Shakir Chapham

Morvant R.C. : Christian Charles, Brandon Charles,  Elijah Joseph, Hakeem Alexander

Morvant New:  Kerwyn French, Kwasi Williams, Jelani Moses, Kadiss White

2010 March Pass Champs

Hokett Baptist (blue) won the Eggy’s Pub 2010 March Pass Challenge trophy on closing day and also the Best Discipline trophy. Lower Morvant (red) received the runners up award in the March Pass and medals as the finalist in the Caribbean Stars KO.

Morvant Anglican took home their medals as the second place finishers, while the (24) All Stars from the six teams were recognized.

Kevin Byre the 2009 MVP who had graduated and now attends Russell Latapy Secondary School, attended the MPSFL final day closing and played in the exhibition match with the 2010 MPSFL All Stars.

Since it is becoming common practice for the past players to attend the league closing day and with the Principals prime to run the MPSFL league for the 2011 season, Caribbean Stars will make every effort to organize exhibition games for the past players of the league next year.

Caribbean Stars would like to take this opportunity to thank Donna Cox and her Parliamentary Office, Everton Calendar of Angostura, Anthony Serette, Eggie of Eggie Entertainment, Bill Downer, Christopher Williamson, Victor McGill, Yvonne Constantine, Asha Lester, Ancil McLean, Russell Mc Intyre, Carlton Lamorel,  Frank Edwards, the Players, coaches, teachers, Principals and everyone who helped to make the Morvant Primary School Football League 2010 season a success.

Stars Morvant Primary School 2009 Tournament

Lower Morvant wins MPSFL two Major trophies

Lower Morvant Government Primary won the two major trophies in the Caribbean Stars 2009 version of the Morvant Primary School Football League (MPSFL).

 After winning the league trophy, Morvant New went on to defeat St Dominic RC in the final of the Jack Warner KO and close off what turn out to be their best season thus far.

The Jack Warner Final was played on Saturday 10th October, after the March Pass Parade of the league teams for the Eggy’s Challenge trophy was completed.

After the March Pass, came the KO final between the heavily favor Lower team which had last year’s MVP and this year’s League MVP and co-most goals scorer in Kevin Byre in their lineup.

Although St Dominic’s did not have any stars in their lineup, their team work was outstanding on this day, and as a result Lower Morvant Primary was caught by surprise. St Dominic’s performance was based on disciple and determination to win.

As the game started Keon Lewis and his troops were controlling the midfield, while Byre put Lower in the lead midway through the first half. But that was all that Lower could muster for their efforts and went into the half with a 1-0 lead.

Lower Morvant came out pressing to increase their lead to start the second half, but St Dominic’s grew in confidence and with Lower missed opportunities, St Dominic capitalized and equalized with less than two minutes left in regulation time.

The game went straight into penalty kicks and at that point the final outcome was uncertain since the game seemed to have slipped out of the hands of the favor Lower Primary with Morvant RC having the momentum from the late equalizer.

After opening taking the early lead in the penalty kicks, Lower missed a couple of kicks to bring St Dominic back into contention and even on goals scored. However, the cream rose to the top and Lower Primary won out after St Dominic’s missed their last penalty, which would have extended the kicks into sudden death.

Lower players and supporters was relieved when it was over and mobbed their goalkeeper to start their celebration. With the win, Lower Morvant became the first team to have won the two major trophies in the four-year history of the Caribbean Stars version of the T&T Morvant Primary school Football League.

For More on the MPSFL 2009 award & winners get Stars Soccer Review magazine on T&T Football

Stars Morvant Primary School 2008 Tournament

Hokett Baptist successfully defends Jack Warner KO

 Hokett Baptist Primary school defeated Morvant Anglican 2-1 to win the  Jack Warner challenge trophy. With the win Hokett became the only team in the league to have won any of the major trophy in back to back seasons.

After defeating the league champions (Chinapoo Government) in last year’s final, Hokett took care of Chinapoo Government in the semi-final this year on penalty kicks while disposing of Morvant New Government 4-1 in their opening round of the draw.

The Warner KO final between Hokett and Morvant Anglican was played on Saturday November 18 at the Morvant Recreation Ground (Savannah) as part of Caribbean Stars International fun day. The event opened with a March Pass Parade of the 6 school teams in the league for the Eggy’s Challenge Trophy.

The March Pass was followed by the Jack Warner KO final and the Presentation of the awards to the winners for the 2008 season which took place at intervals during the events. As part of the proceedings their were a number of exhibition games  as Trendsetters Hawks…….Stay Tuned!

Lower Morvant win Primary School Football league 2008

Lower Morvant Government (Market School) with an unblemished record in league play, secured the 2008 edition of the Caribbean Stars International Morvant Primary School football league (MPSFL) in the district of Morvant, Trinidad on Friday October 10, 2008 after defeating Morvant Anglican 4-2.

Last season Lower implemented a football development program and as  a result most of their players was from the  2007 season. In 2007 Lower also had the smallest players in the M.P.S.F.L. and although their team were not successful in winning many of the games their players were keen on participation and as it seems they were looking forward to the 2008 season.

So it came by no surprise that Chinapoo the defending league champion had to step up and be counted since Lower was willing to challenge Chinapoo chances of repeating as champions. Chinapoo had a few of their players from the previous season but it must be noted that most of their players had graduated and moved on to Secondary schools.

However with size still being a factor for the disadvantage Lower team one could imagine the type of football Lower Morvant was displaying to register an undefeated in league play. The word was out from the opening game of the league which was the team to beat and it also came to me that Lower Morvant impressive play was no fluke.

The first surprise I got before I left for T&T was that Lower had defeated Chinapoo 1-0 and although the score was close it was reported that Lower Morvant dominated the defending League champion Chinapoo. Lucky for me there were two holiday Wednesdays in October so my travel plans put me right in the middle of the MPSFL season so that I could witness the real development of the Morvant Primary school 2008 league race first hand.

However when I arrived in Trinidad…. Stay Tuned!

Lower Morvant Coach of the Year

                                                                                                  Lower Morvant Receiving League Shield

MPSFL All Stars and Trendsetters Hawks teams at 2008 season finale

Stay Tuned!

Stars Morvant Primary School 2007 Tournament

Hokett Baptist win Jack Warner KO ’07’

Hokiest Baptist Primary school won the Jack Warner KO on penalty kicks after they outlasted League winners Chinapoo Government in the 2007 edition of the Caribbean Stars International Morvant Primary School football tournament in Trinidad.

The competition was very keen as Hokett Baptist regrouped after their third place finish in the league to upset Chinapoo in the last game of the season.

Hokett utilized the much needed 12th man advantage when they brought out some of their classes with a few of the parents to gain the upper hand on Chinapoo in the final of the Jack Warner KO. The tactical maneuver by school Principal Mr. Stanley Mahase, and coach Langley worked well. It helped their team defeat a formidable opponent in Chinapoo Government. In spite of the fact that the games are during the day we are hopeful that the trend of parents and pupils attending the games would continue.

Chinapoo Government win Morvant Primary School football league

 At the end of the season the Morvant Primary school football presentation of Awards was held on Saturday November 17,  at the Russell Latapy Secondary school in Morvant.  As mentioned Chinapoo Government won the league shield after finishing third last year. The school endured some hard times but due to the determination of their  Principal Mrs. Carol Bernard, the team managed to overcome their obstacles in time to  represent the District of Morvant in the Zonal competition in Port of Spain.  Chinapoo Government had a tremendous season, as they lead the Morvant league standing from start to finish. They were aggressive from the start of the games and took care of their opponents in a quick and decisive manner.  Chinapoo’s tough team defense was lead by Noel Cummings who captured the Best Defender award as he also managed to push forward to score a goal during the season.

Chinapoo also lead the league in scoring by a wide margin and their main striker and marksman was Dwayne Calliste, son of their parent-coach. Calliste won the Most goals award with 8 goals.

Lower Morvant Government Primary  was voted the Best Discipline team, based on their punctuality and outstanding sportsmanship in spite of the outcome of their games. Lower Morvant also won the Best Dress team award and was instrumental in making the 2007 Primary school tournament a lot of fun. Lower Morvant team was the sentimental choice of the adults that attended the games as they had the smallest players in the tournament and played every game down to the final whistle.

St Dominic’s RC last year’s league champion with Principal Ms. Jones-Simon, did not fear as well this year although their team played very consistent. It seemed like their team had trouble in taking their game to the next level compared to their championship year.  Nevertheless St Dominic RC was still good enough to secure second place in the league.

In the individual category, Hoksett Baptist Aaron Enill won the Best Goalkeeper award while his team mate Ezekiel Issac claimed the MVP award.

In picture below are some of the Morvant Primary school All Stars players who were recognized for their exceptional play during the 2007 football season

Stay Tuned for more pictures of the individual winners of the 2007 edition of the Caribbean Stars International Morvant Primary school competition

Caribbean Stars launch Morvant Primary School T&T Int’l Tournament

  (Above) Morvant Primary School tournament Opening Day Kick off by FIFA Vice President Jack A. Warner

St Dominic’s RC win Morvant Primary

Caribbean Stars International presentation of the Morvant Primary School Football Competition opened with a March Pass Parade on Saturday September 23, 2006.  The competition was officially launched  with the kick off of the ball by Mr. Jack Warner, FIFA vice president and Chief Advisor to the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation. The tournament closed off with the Jack Warner Knock Out, on Friday October 6, 2006.

The competition was keen from the start and throughout the tournament. It started with a two point winner of the 100 points total for the March Pass and stretched to a winner of the league on the last day of the schedule. and a Knock Out winner on sudden death penalty kicks. The talent level of the players also made the individual awards a difficult task for the officials.

As mentioned it all came down to the last day of the league and St Dominic’s was up against second place New Morvant with a (St Dominic’s) 2 points lead. With three points for a win one could imagine this game was a must win for Morvant New. To add to the excitement the Chinapoo team was present for the game praying for a tie because they were also tied for second place on points but in third on goal difference. However,  St Dominic’s opened the scoring and  New Morvant came back and tied the game 1-1 and as a result they were eliminated from league contention.

Chinapoo Government was up next to play Lower Morvant and they had to win by 2 goals clear in the game to win the league. Unfortunately Chinapoo Government lost by a score of 2-0. The game came down to a showcase between the league’s best defender in Moabba Franklyn and the League’s MVP, Nkosi David.  They face each other on several occasions in the game but for the most part Moabba held his defensive ground. However in sports situation change quickly and after Lower Morvant scored on Chinapoo early, Moabba was asked to support the attack.

In winners circle was Morvant Anglican- March Pass, St Dominic’s RC- League Champions, Morvant New Government- Jack Warner Knock Out, and Hokett Baptist- Best Discipline.  The individual award winners were Andell Andrews -Most Goals from New Morvant Gov’t, Moabba Franklyn (Best Defender) from Chinapoo Gov’t, William Alexander-Best Goalkeeper from New Morvant, and Nkosi David-(Dennis Lawrence) MVP trophy from Lower Morvant.

This strategy backfire on Chinapoo due to the fact that Lower Morvant second goal came as a direct result of that move.  It was Nkosi second attempt at passing defender Moabba and  one can say that he learned fast by his lack of success from trying to dribble Noabba minutes earlier. On his second attempt he moving back in his defensive position in a one and one situation and instead of trying the dribble he wisely decided change speed with a hesitation that was enough to accelerate across Moabba that gave him enough space to shoot around this defender into the net at the last post. That was one of the many classic moves by the young players in the competition.

With Chinapoo losing St Dominic’s RC and their classes marched back to school (200 metres away) singing and rejoicing. They were the Morvant Primary School League champions and as such they will represent Morvant, at the Port of Spain “Zonal” competition.

 In the Knock Out, league favorite New Morvant took matters into their own hands by rebounding from their two second place finishes to captured the Jack Warner KO after defeating Morvant AC (Anglican) in the final on penalty kicks.

 All Stars players were selected towards the end of the league and the Stars are in training under Coach Anthony “Prowler” Streets for final selection to travel to Canada.  Anthony  is a resident of Morvant and he is also the coach of Superstar Rangers of the T&T Pro League.

At this time Caribbean Stars would like to thank the Ministry of Education, T&T Football Federation, Morvant Constituency Office, Principals, Coaches, Parents, Referees, Supporters and most of all the players for making the event a success.

Ian Wharton of New Morvant “Coach of the Year”

Ian Wharton, coach and teacher of the Morvant New primary died on Monday October 23, 2006, after he was struck by lightening while attending to his girl’s teams in rain. Caribbean Stars of Canada worked with Ian Wharton, at the Morvant Primary School  tournament 2006 in Trinidad, and we found him to be a extremely generous and genuine person.

Our last meeting with Ian was on Friday October 6, 2006 at the Morvant Savannah in T&T when he coached his team, Morvant New Government to win the prestigious Jack Warner Knock Out trophy. Although he was unable to attend the presentation of awards that Sunday, his focus, support, and commitment to Morvant New Government Primary school boys and girls football/soccer program was invaluable.  In light of his contributions, Caribbean Stars has taken the opportunity (if permitted) to name the Coach of the Year award in Ian Wharton’s name.

The award would be called the “Ian Wharton Coach of the Year Award” and Ian is the first winner of the award.  Ian improved his team performance from a third place finish in the opening March Pass Parade, to an undefeated second place finish in the league, and clinched the Jack Warner Knock Out to close the 2006 season.  For us this personifies his perseverance, commitment, and leadership as a coach Ian Wharton was a positive influence to all with whom he came in contact, and we believe that commemorating the “Coach of the Year Award” in his name will help raise the standard for primary school coaches. He reinforced our belief that a good coach for the most part can have a tremendous influence on the youth Ian Wharton positive attitude was reflected in his team play and his creativity was displayed at the Morvant Primary school games. At the boy’s games it was his custom to allow the girl team players to attend in support of the boy’s team and at the halftime he would allow the girls to conduct the boys huddle                                    

 Ian was also well liked by his fellow coaches and because of this he gained the unanimous vote to allow the members of his girl’s team to participate in the Jack Warner Knock Out.

 He was indeed open to ideas, accommodating, and close to his players. Wharton also assisted the Russell Latapy Secondary school girl’s football/soccer team program by accepting exhibition games with his girls in order to help sharpen Latapy’s team for their debut in the Secondary school league competition

 On behalf of Caribbean Stars, Morvant Primary School Principals, and the Coaches we would like to extend our deepest sympathy to Ian Wharton’s family, and everyone affected by his sudden death.

We pray that in time they will be able to cope with his sudden loss and take comfort that Ian will be remembered when we reflect on the fond memories of the Morvant Primary 2006 football/soccer season.   God Bless!

Event Management : Yvonne Constantine Welch, Victor McGill (T&T), Val Sebro (USA) and Event Coordinator Aldwyn McGill(Canada)

Stars to launch Morvant Int’l football Tournament

Caribbean Stars of Toronto Canada has taken the initiative to establish an International Tournament beginning with a pilot project between Malvern Youth Club of Toronto, Canada, and the Primary Schools of the Morvant Trinidad, West Indies. Members of the organization committee comprise of the principals of the schools (seen above) met last Friday and gave the green light to kick off in September 2006, as planned. The project has been endorsed by the Trinidad and Tobago Football Federation and sanctioned by the Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Sports. The project is intended to spread throughout the entire Caribbean and Canada. Morvant and Malvern have been selected as the pilot due to the negative publicity the districts has received as a result of violent crime reported at the National level.

Caribbean Stars has been successful in getting the support and blessing of World Cup bound Soca Warrior Dennis Lawrence for the project, and he is looking forward to being of more help when his schedule allows. Dennis lives in Coconut Drive, Morvant and has lived in the district of Morvant for 25 years. He attended Morvant New Government Primary School therefore his interest in the tournament is based on giving back to his roots. In his speech at the Warriors welcome reception at Piarco Airport after the Bahrain victory he was hopeful that the historic event will help Trinidad and Tobago unite and somehow put an end to the gun violence and crime that has taken over the country.  He is happy to be a part of this project and had no objection to his name being used for the MVP trophy he has donated.

The initial stage of the project will be starting with the seven Morvant Primary schools in September and the Tournament will open with a March Pass Parade geared towards brining out the entire district of Morvant.  The seven Primary Schools competing are: Morvant R.C. Morvant Anglican, Chinapoo Government, Lower Morvant Government, Morvant New Government, Maryland RC, and Hokett Baptist.  At the end of the season an All Star team will be selected from the participating schools to travel to Canada in 2007 to compete against Malvern and surrounding Youth Clubs.

Scarborough National Malvern Soccer Club has offered to support the project and is anxiously awaiting the visiting Morvant All Star team.  North Scarborough Youth Soccer Club is also keen on the idea and is making arrangements for their 2007 scheduling. A meeting of the Operational Committee comprised of the coaches, managers, referee coordinator, local, and international coordinators is scheduled for the first week of May to finalize the rules and schedule of the tournament. For more information email info@caribbeanstars.com

Parents, get Involve 

In anticipation of the upcoming soccer season, our community teams should be concerned due to the lack of commitment shown by their players last season.  Maybe with the excitement of the World Cup and its momentum carrying through into the season players will commit early and stick it out for the entire season. Some players were moving away from their structured clubs and forming their own teams with little or no leadership. Other players were playing for up to 4 teams which was probably a reflection of the short lived success they had at some of the indoor soccer money tournaments that required a minimum number of players and a maximum of friend picks. Players of today change teams like they changing their underwear. In contrast back in the day, commitment was attributed to payment of a club’s annual membership dues combined with the passion for the game, player pride, and love for club that only injury or unforeseen circumstances could have prevented a player from completing the season. In contrast today teams make unbelievable concessions for players and thus experience their so called super stars transform into super scars.

Is it possible that the background of most of these non committed players may be traced to parents who enroll their kids in programs and end up too busy to attend their practices, and games? We have seen the entire attitude of kids with lack of parental support changed drastically from keen interested players to confused and troubled youths. In some cases their troubled phase were compounded with acquisition of new friends with questionable interest and ulterior motives. In most cases the troubled kids were the ones with the exceptional talent while the kids with supportive parents but limited skills feared much better in life.

Parents for the upcoming season commit some time to the activities of your child and attend their games because decisions are made by others that may affect your child life. For one it could be your golden opportunity to learn more about your child’s character and their other friends away from school. Stop taking the easy route by arranging to have coaches or other parents pick up and drop your kids off when they have practices or competitive games when you can make it. Go out and support your kids because contrary to what some media will like you to believe, a link to society breakdown has little to do with the areas you live in.  In 2005 the much publicized bad spots in Toronto such as Scarborough produced a National Champion senior team in GS United and 5 marquee players. Dwayne De Rosario, Julian De Guzman and Adrian Serioux were all members of the Canadian Men’s National Soccer team, while Desmond Humphrey and Emil Calixterio were the 2005 MVP’s of the Canadian Professional Soccer League and the Ontario Soccer League respectively. They all lived and developed their skills around the Malvern and North Scarborough Youth Clubs. Their awards were accomplished as a direct result of continued parental support and players committed to a season.

On the International soccer scene Dennis Lawrence of the Trinidad and Tobago World Cup bound Soca Warriors lives in a Coconut Drive in the district of Morvant which is classified as one of the crime infested areas of the country. That did not stop him in his aspirations not did it stop him from scoring the lone goal against Bahrain to send his country to the World Cup.