Liguanea trusting blueprint for KSAFA Under-13 success

LIGUANEA United’s 1-0 victory over their long-time age-group rivals from Constant Spring United in Sunday’s Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA) Under-13 final at Bell Chung Oval was more than a championship triumph. It was the latest chapter in a rivalry between feeder programmes — Ballaz Academy (Liguanea) and Norbrook Strikers (Constant Spring) that has helped arrest the local youth football landscape for several years, and the culmination of a journey that has seen Liguanea’s core group dominate their respective age groups from Under-8. On this occasion, though, there was something tangible to show for that consistency as Liguanea held their nerve in a tightly contested final to secure the KSAFA Under-13 championship, getting the better of a club that won the last title and have been to the last four finals in the competition. Captain Raheem Smith, returned from an injury setback to secure the all-important goal, capping a season that saw Liguanea register an unbeaten campaign, while scoring the most goal and only conceding three. Smith was named as the final’s MVP while striker Braden Burkett, who helped himself to 14 goals and eight assists, earned the top goalscorer prize. For Head Coach Andre Virtue, the figure behind Ballaz and Liguanea United, the success was no accident. It was the result of months of planning, a clear vision and a deliberate attempt to create an environment in which the young players could develop while learning how to compete and win. “We started our preparation in late April, early May, and from the start, we set some objectives, and those objectives were very clear,” Virtue told the Jamaica Observer. More than 30 players were registered and trained three times per week, with the coaching staff making it clear that achieving their objectives would require commitment from everyone involved including players, parents, coaches and the wider support team. At the centre of that preparation was one uncompromising target. “We wanted to be the 2026 KSAFA Under-13 champions, and it was written on our whiteboard. That was said at every training session,” Virtue explained. The players were not simply told to win, however. The coaching staff established a series of measurable targets designed to encourage excellence across the team. That approach reflects the bigger picture behind Liguanea’s success. The majority of the players have been together for years, progressing through the age groups and developing a familiarity with each other and the club’s footballing philosophy. Others were brought into the group as the game progressed from seven-a-side and nine-a-side to the 11-a-side format. The result has been a team with both continuity and quality. “We have a quality set of boys. These boys have been together for a while. They have, in the local space, done extremely well from U8 coming up,” Virtue said. The development work extends beyond Liguanea United itself, with Ballaz Academy serving as the club’s feeder programme and placing significant emphasis on player development between the ages of seven and 12. For Virtue, the KSAFA title is therefore evidence of the effectiveness of that long-term approach. “This is the hard work that we’ve been putting in at Ballaz Academy,” he said. “We pride ourselves in the development.” Yet the coach is also acutely aware that dominating locally cannot be the final measure of the players’ development. Liguanea’s players have already gained international exposure, travelling to Spain, where they competed and progressed to the semi-finals of the Costa Blanca Cup — losing on penalties to the eventual winners, and competing in the USA Cup, where they won the gold category— becoming the first and only Jamaican team to do so. “We can’t drop our standards or be mediocre in our approach around preparing these boys beyond the local football environment,” Virtue said. That mindset was evident in the team’s preparation for the KSAFA knockout stages. Virtue said the players were repeatedly reminded that nothing would be handed to them, regardless of their previous success. “Nothing is going to be given to us. Everything for Ballaz and Liguanea now has to be earned,” he said. That mentality became particularly important heading into the final against Constant Spring, another club with a strong youth development tradition and a familiar opponent from the players’ earlier years. The occasion brought together two groups that have been competing against each other for years, making the final a fitting conclusion to the season. Virtue notes that one of the biggest achievements was the way the players handled the pressure, encouraging them throughout the season to view mistakes as part of development rather than something to fear. That philosophy extends well beyond football.