It’s one of those good news – bad news deals. Jamoy Stevens is making progress towards an eventual spot on the Antigua & Barbuda National Team! That also means that he might be staying home this year instead of coming to Vancouver to help the Victory in the Evergreen Premier League.
The Antigua & Barbuda FA hired former MLS coach Piotr Nowak as Technical Director. Nowak saw Stevens training with the U-23’s. The result is an unmissable opportunity for Jamoy.
Jamoy Stevens.
“Jamoy may not be able to come and play for us this summer because he has just been called up to train with the national team in Antigua,” Victory owner Barrett Goddard says. “He and three of his brothers have all been called up to train this month to try and earn a spot on the senior team for a tour of England they are going to do next month. New Technical Director Peter Novak has had his eye on Jamoy for a few months now and has had him train with the U23’s.”
Goddard is excited for the young man. “This is something Jamoy has been training really hard to try and do for the past two years. It means more to him to play for Antigua than it does to even secure a professional football contract.”
Jamoy is ready to take advantage of the moment. “Like any football player would tell you, playing for your national team is a dream we all want,” the defender says. “I have never played for the senior team. I have trained to make the team a few times but just couldn’t make the cut. It was not that I wasn’t good enough to make the team. I was young and afraid but had enough potential to at least make the team.”
Jamoy heard the advice of coaches. “They would tell me after every practice I needed to developed speed and better touches before I can make the team. I was more focusing on being around the senior players than using the time to step my game up a bit more, but like I say I was young.”
Hard work and consistent improvement are paying off. “After competing and traveling a few times at the youth level in several matches, qualifiers and tournaments, I started to gain power, speed flexibility and knowledge of the game that I would never think I could have imagined. All because I was competing against some of the top young talent all across different countries.”
The Victory may not have Jamoy for the 2015 season, but the good news is that his career is taking off back home.
Jamoy Stevens may stay at home in St. John’s if he makes the A & B senior traveling squad. (V2FC photo)
