Ahead of our Under 17s European Qualifiers in Dublin next week, Head Coach David Ochello gives us his thoughts on his squad, their preparations and his hopes for their future: Give us some background on the squad – how long have you been together? How Has your training programme gone? This group of players have been playing together for a number of years forming part of GFA squads at different age groups. This last call up was made at the beginning of January, with the players demonstrating a huge commitment and dedication, and putting in a lot of effort and hard work. The initial squad of 20 had a successful development tournament in Liechtenstein in April where they managed to compete against other small nations such as San Marino (0-0) Malta (3-2 lost) Liechtenstein (1-1). The players kept training during summer, making use of the limited allocations available, whilst also also allowing necessary time off for their studies, since most of them where undergoing their GCSES. At the beginning of August we travelled to Wales where we held a training camp at the Swansea F.C facilities, covered a lot of work and managed to get in 2 games against Swansea Academy sides in which we unfortunately lost 4-1 and 5-4. Since August the final push towards the preparation for the Euro Qualifiers has been very difficult, mainly due to the fact that the main pitch was out of bounds for different reasons. Having said this, training has been adapted to pitch 2(small pitch)which has allowed us to stay in contact with the squad, and as a result we were able to cover other aspects such as fitness, tests, ssgs etc. Now that the main pitch is finally available (16th Sep) the training schedule has become much more intense. We have therefore managed to work with the players as much as possible with the support of the clubs. The final 18 have been training during their school lunch hour and then meeting in the afternoon for an extra 2 hours. I must say their attitude has been exceptional!! Are you happy with the level the players are currently at? Our Coaching staff have been very demanding with the players and I believe that the appropriate work has been covered. I’m sure we have managed to affect every squad member positively in one area or another. Unfortunately for now we will not be able to prepare as well as we would have ideally liked but this is due to certain factors beyond our control. The players have had the correct attitude and we have worked towards having a professional approach. The players are as ready as they can be. Obviously we are very limited in facilities and we lack playing frequent competitive matches. If the kids go out on the field and give it their best, they will make Gibraltar proud because they are a tight team of talented players. What are your expectations for the tournament as a whole? In terms of expectations we have to be humble and accept the fact that right now we are the least experienced team in the group. This does not mean however that we are significantly inferior to our opponent, on the contrary, I am confident that we will be winning points. It just means that we will need to ensure that we are extremely focused on the games, and take the three group stage matches as three cup finals. If we as coaches manage to make players give their 100%....who knows!! Football is a crazy game played 11v11 and anything can happen. There is a great team spirit, the kids are very positive and I trust in this team doing well. Can you see many of this crop of youngsters progressing through to u21s and eventually getting capped at full international level? I believe that every coach in Gib working at junior level should always have this as a priority within his coaching philosophy. There is no better feeling of success or achievement other than seeing players you have coached progress through to the national team. My job as coach is to provide as many tools as possible to prepare the players for the top team. It has been difficult to educate these kids on what’s coming and the new challenges and opportunities that could unfold now that we have entered into UEFA – something which is new to us all. Fortunately enough these players have been slightly exposed to the real football world abroad and they have adapted their mentality and lifestyle. If they continue working as hard and stay as determined as they have been there is no doubt they will progress through to the u19s, and even Top senior Squad. On a personal level what does it mean to you to be our U17 Head Coach? Becoming u17 Head Coach is a real honor for me. My passion for football and enthusiasm has allowed me to prove my willingness to do well in this role. It is a very challenging age group as the players are in the transition from Junior to Senior football. Unfortunately football is not the only thing running through these kids minds at this age, and with the help of the other coaches we have kept them focused and on track. Kids at this age group experience European Qualifiers for the first time. I as coach not only play a vital role in the physical and tactical preparation of the squad but also getting players psychologically ready for what they could eventually experience at senior level. Although a huge responsibility, it is very rewarding to help players to better themselves and progress smoothly into older age groups and national squads. I have been, and continue to be, fully committed to this venture and really hope the players have benefited from all the time and hard work that we have put into this.
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 09:14:15 +0000