Soccer Star Playing for St Lucia U-20s
A Canadian girl is starting to make people notice her skill on the pitch. Why is this something that I’d put up on our blog? Her parents are from St Lucia! Yep, this makes her a citizen of our island country and thus, eligible for our national athletic teams. This fact did not escape the coaches of the under 20 team, which she has now been recruited to play for.
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Soccer star makes waves on international scene
Posted Feb 26, 2010 By Charelle Evelyn
EMC Sports - For 17 year-old Kwanzaa Robest, the draw of soccer was something that could not be ignored.
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“It’s in my blood,” said the Ottawa South United (OSU) striker, explaining that both of her parents have a history playing the game.
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Despite the family connection to the game, it was Kwanzaa’s decision when she was in grade 10 to give up running with the Lions Track and Field Club and focus solely on the sport she had been playing since she was four years old.
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“I decided I couldn’t live without playing soccer,” she said.
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It was around the same time that Kwanzaa left her childhood soccer home the St. Anthony Italia Soccer Club that had nurtured her since the age of nine and joined the OSU under-21 team.
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“OSU is a lot bigger, they have more programs and are more interested in their team,” Kwanzaa said.
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That interest has helped to shape Kwanzaa’s game for the better. As a provincially ranked sprinter, speed on the field is one of her greatest strengths, said her coach Audra Sherman.
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The intensity of the OSU program, which includes two or three training sessions per week plus a game, has helped fine-tune her technical skills.
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“I still need improvement,” said Kwanzaa, citing her tendency to keep her head down while dribbling the ball, “but I’ve improved a lot.”
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Since she made the switch, Kwanzaa has cultivated quite the name for herself, becoming the leading scorer not only for her team, but for the entire Eastern Regional Soccer League.
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According to Ms. Sherman, Kwanzaa’s work ethic and drive for success are just as important as her speed.
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“She’s able to just adapt to any environment,” she said.
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That ability to integrate into any situation and attack the net helped Kwanzaa get noticed while on vacation with her family last July in her parents’ home country of St. Lucia.
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The coaches of the island’s under-20 national team saw her play and score five goals with a village team. Two weeks after she returned to Canada, they were in contact urging her to sign up.
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“I did all the paperwork, went down for a practice and that’s how it all began,” said Kwanzaa, who joins the Caribbean team if they need her for large tournaments.
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She describes the experience of playing for a national squad as different, but exciting.
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“They cater to each player and they check to see how each player is doing,” she said.
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Among her most memorable experiences in international play, Kwanzaa described a 5-1 loss against Trinidad and Tobago where she scored the lone goal for St. Lucia.
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“After the game, (the Trinidad coach) approached me to tell me that out of all the goals they scored, mine was the nicest they’ve seen.”
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Back in Canada, Kwanzaa’s focus is on balancing being a student at St. Paul Catholic High School, playing soccer, spending time with friends and working a part-time job.
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Her goal after graduation is to play for an American university, something the OSU will be helping her with.
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“We’re trying to get a scholarship for her to play at the next level,” said Ms. Sherman. “We develop our players to expose them to a higher level in the (United) States or in Canada.”
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Playing with the OSU, Kwanzaa has had an opportunity to go to a showcase tournament in Dallas that allowed her to see how others play and adjust her game accordingly.
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“I’m getting myself ready to move off into other experiences I’ll deal with in soccer,” she said.
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http://www.emcottawasouth.ca/20100226/sports/Soccer+star+makes+waves+on+international+scene