El Dorado West Secondary, a rising power in the Secondary Schools Football League (SSFL), will aim to reach the top-flight Premiership Division next year, starting Monday (November 2) against Pleasantville Secondary in the Boys Championship Division Big Five Play-Offs at Mannie Ramjohn Stadium in Marabella from 3.30 pm.
Coach Dave Quamina said the school is now reaping the benefits of a five-year development programme. Just last week, the school, long overshadowed by its neighbour El Dorado East, which has made a name for itself as “The Blue Thunder” over the years, gave way to El Dorado West claiming top spot in the East Zone after a 1-1 tie on Target Road.
Quamina said the strength of his team’s success did not only come from its players, but also from the off-the-field support from the school itself, saying he had to work with what he had, as the luxury of transfers from other schools were not afforded at the time.
“Well, the teachers contribute, supportively-wise, I'm talking about; they’re very supportive. It's a supportive school when it comes to the teachers supporting the children in what they're trying to achieve. We came in 2024, and we started from scratch, building our Under 14 team. That season itself, I think we won the U-14 programme, so we just built the U-14 team. So the team that we are right now, that is the team from two years ago. We didn’t have the luxury of transfers like other schools,” Quamina said.
He noted further, “Two years ago, we said that this is the stage we wanted to be at, so we're at that stage now, where we're seeing the fruits of our labour. We have a certain playing style that we've been working on for two years, and the boys know exactly what they have to go and do, so they know the playing style and everything. So basically, we just implemented the style into the guys what we want, and they’re just executing it.”
This style is expected to be on display this afternoon against a school that is no stranger to the top-flight division in the SSFL. Pleasantville’s last appearance in the Premiership was back in 2023, and under coach and extempo boss Brian London, they are eager to make a return. Quamina admitted he has not done his research on the southerners, but he is confident that their own style of play will be sufficient to push them over the line this afternoon.
“When we're saying our playing style, it doesn't have to be a short passing game, or it doesn’t have to be long passing. It doesn't have to be possession-based, or transition, or whatever, but it’s just letting the players go out and enjoy what they do on the field. I think in Trinidad, we don't let players express themselves. In this era, I don't think coaches allow players to go out and express themselves. It's just a free-flowing, expressive way of playing football.”
When quizzed on what his team’s approach will be today, Quamina said, “It’s just to go in and let the players take the pressure off of each other. Don't let them think too much and pressure themselves, because you don't want to pressure yourself too much. There's something called emotional tiredness, where you think so much before the game that you start getting tired before the game even starts.”
“We'll take the game as it is; it’s just another game, but we will show our opponents respect, because we don't know who they are. They're also in the same boat with us. We don't have any information on them, and I don't know if they have information on us. So we’re going to play our normal game, free-flowing football.”
The match will be one of two Big Five Play-Off games today. In the other fixture, North Zone winner East Mucurapo will take on Central Zone champion Presentation College at the East Mucurapo Ground. Matches kick off at 3.30 pm.
