Saturday and Sunday were soccer-filled days for approximately 40 young female players and local coaches on St. Thomas and St. Croix. Lady Rovers SC, in partnership with Football is Freedom, Marley Natural, the USVI Soccer Federation, and LRVI FC Castaways, hosted a free soccer clinic on both islands.
The Football is Freedom initiative is led by Cedella Marley, daughter of Robert Nesta “Bob” Marley, under the Bob & Rita Marley Foundation.
In celebration of the beloved singer’s 80th birthday, the clinic and coaching seminar focused on supporting female footballers and creating opportunities for them to succeed both on and off the field.
At the Bethlehem Field on St. Croix, Coach Mackiesh Taylor Jones, one of the main founders of Lady Rovers SC, described the morning session for young players aged 10-18. The session began with introductions, followed by icebreakers and various soccer drills, including ball passing, dribbling games, step-overs, shooting, and other techniques.
“The girls were receptive to the skills they learned. We have been doing these skills with the clubs here on St. Croix and having the coaches come and do this with them reinforces what they’ve learned,” said Taylor Jones.
After practicing their skills, the young soccer players had the opportunity to play several rounds of soccer with one another.
“The visiting coaches said they were really impressed with the girls and the skill they have. They were also impressed with their focus and willingness to play in the hot sun,” Taylor Jones said.
Cedella Marley created Football is Freedom on a grassroots level. She has been an ambassador for the sport and provides opportunities that have not always existed for women.
Taylor Jones said they are very happy to be a part of the first clinic. “It definitely aligns with what our club is doing and the overall goal of women playing soccer in the Virgin Islands,” she said.
“One of the goals when we first started was how do we bring the love of football back for this generation of females. We want them to stay in love with the sport for as long as possible because it strengthens the national team,” she continued.
Visiting Coach Laura Busby, a college coach for the Air Force Academy, was one of the guests who assisted with the day’s training.
“We are working with young girls here on the island and exposing them to high level coaching and just providing opportunities for them to come out and learn some new skills,” said Busby.
“There are so many lessons you can learn through sport. Teamwork for one, communication I think in this day and age where everyone has a phone you lose the opportunity to kind of connect with each other and I think football in general is a way for young girls to put down their phones, come out and be active, but it also unites people,” she continued.
The young soccer players also participated in personal development workshops and created vision boards. The day concluded with a coach’s training session in the afternoon.
