Parris eager to do better, play at top level
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — The devastation brought on by the effects of the novel coronavirus pandemic is well documented.
But for promising Jamaican footballer Kaheem Parris, its ever-increasing effects have been debilitating.
The former Dinthill High School dacosta Cup star left the Jamaica’s shores for Slovenia’s Division One club NK Domzale in October last year, but was loaned out to Division Two side NK Krka Novo Mesto in February.
The left-sided player has since settled in nicely and taken the league by storm, leading the goalscorers’ chart with 11 strikes from as many games when the season was called to a halt over two weeks ago due to an increase in positive COVID-19 cases.
Now he’s eager to kick on from where he had left off.
“It’s been good for me this year, but unfortunately the coronavirus pandemic has forced a suspension of our league until next year,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
“Hopefully I will be able to perform at the same level as before the league was halted,” he continued.
The former Cavalier FC standout admitted that he had a difficult start in Slovenia, but his patience and perseverance paid off in the end.
“It was difficult to adapt, but I was patient, and it did a lot for me. Also, a lot of people in the club do speak English; the coach, most of the players, the technical director, they speak English well, so that is not a problem for me.”
The soon-to-be 21-year-old added that his goalscoring exploits were aided by the fact that he was given the freedom to play from the right side of the pitch, where opportunities open up for him to cut inside and make attempts on goal.
He is impressed with the quality of play and noted that it’s highly technical and physical, an environment which he believes serves to make him more adaptable to different conditions.
But even so, he’s now forced to defend his wing back much more, and he’s learnt to work off the ball more, skills needed to take his game to the next level.
“My ultimate goal is to play in a top-five league in the world, that’s the dream of every young player playing football.”
Parris had his first start for the Reggae Boyz in their opening 0-3 loss to Saudi Arabia on Saturday, and even though he had a decent review from some quarters, personally, he thought he could have done much better.
“We started out a little bit slow, but after a while we started to play and we made mistakes which cost us the goals; but for me personally, I didn’t play badly, but that is nowhere near my quality. I can play much better, and hopefully in the next game I will give a better performance,” he told the Observer.
That he will have to do on Tuesday if Head Coach Theodore Whitmore calls on him, because players will be jostling for places in the squad with not just the Concacaf Gold Cup Tournament on next summer, but also the start of the Fifa World Cup qualifiers.
“I really want a spot; this is my aim, to earn my spot for next year’s World Cup qualifiers and Gold Cup, and that would be so important to be in the squad. It would give me a lot more opportunities in Europe or elsewhere,” he offered.