Athletic coach Alwyn Babb, under the One Community St. Peter project, recently donated a number of footballs to the Northern Upper Level football team.
The recently-formed group, which is made up of players from the parishes of St. Peter and St. Lucy, will benefit from the donation which will assist with the skill and fitness programme.
With the COVID-19 pandemic taking a toll on contact sports in Barbados, football has fallen victim since players are still unable to compete. However, in recent times, contact sports were allowed to have training sessions as long as they were done in a safe environment.
Babb encouraged the group to make valuable use of the time away from competition by improving their skill level, getting fitter and faster as well as becoming mentally tough.
The former national coach told the players this routine would ensure that they return to the playing field as “better players”.
The teacher by profession, who was born in St Lucy and raised in Six Men’s, St Peter, said he is hoping to see the return of the St. Peter football league post-COVID.
“This competition brought the St. Peter community together. However, several pavilions are in need of repairs and urgent attention, especially in Black Bess. Debushing and refurbishment at Indian Ground and the pavilion at Warleigh in Mile-and-a-Quarter are also in need of an upgrade. The facility needs to be torn down, and replaced with a wall structure inclusive of adequate changing facilities and hard courts installed,” Babb lamented.
The coach said that more should be done to develop sports in the North. He suggested that a racing track be built in the current Speightstown Playing Field.
“Consideration can be given to the extension of the playing field in Speightstown to include a track for training and competition where the primary and secondary schools in the north will have a facility to stage their annual school sports. This and other ideas are all part of the reviving of Speightstown,” Babb said. (PR/IMC)
