The Annai Men's Football Team

Bernie Johnson dropped off a letter to me from John Abraham from Annai Village. John represents the men's football club. His letter announced the beginning of the North Rupununi Football (soccer) Tournament...and went on to ask me to be the coach. Whew!!! What to do. On the hand, I know nothing about the players...no idea of their skill levels, have never seen the play, don't know how the game is played down here, not to mention I've never coached Amerindians, nor for that matter any Guyanese or even South Americans.

What I did know from watching some players, most are athletic. They have great body shapes to be good players...somewhat short, excellent balance, very good feet and they can run for--ever!!! I had also observed that few players have good basic skills. They do not pass the ball well, receive it poorly and have little understanding of team tactics. So, what do I have to lose...let's give it a try.

I met with the them the next day...a group comprised of 14 & 15 year-olds all the way up to the old man, Capitash John at 36. Some of the players have their own "boots", but most do not. Look at the picture closely...you will notice that more than half the players are barefoot...and that's they way the play...barefoot.



Now this makes for an interesting situation when substituting during a game. The rules require that each player must be wearing boots, socks, shin guards and a shirt. When a substitution is made, there is usually a quick undress and dress routine as the player coming off doffs his uniform, socks and boots, gives them to the substitute to don...and on the field goes the new player.

Speaking of the field, the Annai "ground" is one of the best fields in the league. We have a great maintenance crew. They work round the clock preparing the field...and they are very efficient. Never wasting a motion, the cut the grass with one end as they fertilize it with the other. The fertilizer mixture is roughly 30-30-30-10...horse, cow, donkey and other. As you can see in the pictures, the don't do a real good job of broadcasting the fertilizer, rather, they tend to leave it in steaming piles that get flattened during practice and games.

I am looking forward to a great season. John comes for me on his motorcycle at 5:30am. We practice from 6:00am to 7:30am, then I walk the 3 miles from Annai to Bina Hill, take a great shower, have breakfast and begin my day.