13 July,2009 10:31 AM IST | | Clinton Vaz
ST Stanislaus football team coach Roy Fernandes is a very busy man these days. Even as he is training his boys for the battles ahead, he is spendingu00a0 extra hours on the ground, trying to gauge the potential of each of his wards, who will be representing the u-16 champs during the inter-school season which kicks-off at the MSSA today.
"We began training in the summer vacations itself. But because a few boys went on holidays, proper training began once the school reopened in June," Fernandes said. So, even though the coach didn't get the amount of time he would have wanted to prepare his boys for the defence of their title, the performance these under-16 youngsters have dished out has been more than satisfactory. So much so, that Fernandes is confident that Stanislaus canu00a0 in fact successfully defend their title.
"The boys have very strong basics," Roy said and added: "Training these boys becomes all the more easier. I only have to identify each one's skills and abilities and use it wisely."
During training, Roy spends a substantial time in endurance-building sessions. And only after enough time spent honing skills in dribbling, the boys get to play a game of football.
But like every coach associated with schools football, Fernandes has a task of gathering all the boys at one time for training. "With more than half the team in Class X, parents insist students attend classes instead of wasting time on practice.
"So, getting all of them at one time is a problem," the coach admitted.
