Phoenix dominate Kidz Connection six-a-side tournament
Phoenix Academy dominated the inaugural Kidz Connection Youth Football Jamboree at the Duhaney Park football field on Saturday, making three out of four finals, while winning two.
The Craig Butler-founded Phoenix A defeated community team White All Stars for the under-8 title. They also turned back St Richard Primary to win the under-10 crown.
However, in the under-13 decider against Winchester (St George’s College) Academy, they had to settle for the runner-up spot.
The Under-15 final between St Andrew Technical (STATHS) and Youths United ended in favour of STATHS.
However, for Tynesa Miller, organiser of the event, it was a huge success and one that will only get bigger.
“It was a success, despite the rain. The feedback from parents, the kids, players, and coaches was great – had nothing but good things to say about the tournament – and they cannot wait for next year,” she said.
“And we should easily double the entrants for next year, so next year will be bigger, and we are excited about our progress with Kidz Connection as we are glad we can still live up to our expectation, ‘where kids connect to learning’,” she continued
The tournament showcased a number of academies such as Phoenix, Winchester (St George’s College) and Charlton, and Miller noted that most of the community and school teams were highly motivated going up against these teams.
“Being that we had a few academies, it pushed the other teams because that was the competition. They wanted to beat the top teams,” she said.
Miller said that they intend to iron out all the flaws they had in this initial staging, and with a bit more promotion, she predicts that it will become a staple on the football calendar.
“One of the things we are looking for next year to make it bigger is to look for sponsors to come on board to execute the vision. We have that vision for what we want, but the funding is an issue, but we did the best we could this year. We will also promote it a bit more next year, plus there are a few internal issues we have to work on,” she said.