Following on from the highly successful Swindon Town Youth Football Camps in February, Grasspiece Promotions hosted the Maples West Ham United Youth Camps that took place on Monday, July 20 to Friday, July 24 at the Annex Field.

Through the generous support from major sponsors Maples and Calder and several other sponsors including Conyers Dill & Pearman, Futbolista World, Wata, Pepsi and Cayman National, Grasspiece Promotions was able to acquire the services of three prominent youth coaches and scouts working with West Ham United’s Youth Academy to participate in the Camps.

The West Ham United youth coaches were Harry Cullum, former professional player who holds a UEFA B licence as well as a FA Coaching certificate; Carl Griffiths, former professional player with Manchester City and Portsmouth, football league manager and a current scout; and Steve Portway, former professional player, football league manager, current scout and coach who holds a UEFA B licence in coaching.

The camps attracted over a hundred male and female participants between the ages of six and 23. Ages six to 11 attended the morning session from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m., ages 12 to 17 took to the field between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. and the older campers aged 18 to 23 rounded off the day’s sessions between 5:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m.

It was a long week for the visiting coaches with the warm summer sun making conditions that much more tiresome. During the camps, the coaches were able to implement a technical, educational and fun approach to the camps, which included working on improving basic skills such as dribbling, controlling, passing and shooting as well as integrating communication, movement, sharpness, focus and team work.

Commenting on the camps, coaches Harry Cullum and Carl Griffiths said, “It was a fantastic week here in the Cayman Islands and if it was possible, we would love to be doing another week here. All the kids worked really hard and did everything we asked of them and with the right coaching, there could be one or two local players who could move on to that next level. We have been treated so well by Grasspiece Promotions and the people of the Cayman Islands, which made the trip even better for us. Hopefully, we will be back soon and will look forward to that day.”

On the final day of the camps, replica West Ham United jerseys and training gear were presented to four youngsters who were selected by the visiting coaches for their attitude and outstanding play throughout the week.

Six-year old Olivia Thorpe from Cayman Prep, 11-year old Jackson Kirkconnell from Cayman Prep and Academy SC, 12-year old Barry-Dre Tibbetts from John Gray High School and Elite SC, and 14-year old Trey Ebanks from John Gray High School and Academy SC were congratulated for their efforts by the West Ham Youth Academy coaches, Grasspiece Promotions directors, sponsors and CIFA Vice President and Interim President Bruce Blake, who was on hand to assist with the presentations.

Each camper received a commemorative shirt prior to the camp and was also presented with a certificate of participation.

Grasspiece Promotions Director and organiser of the camp Bruce Sigsworth added, “The boys and girls loved the camp, the coaches loved the camp and we as organisers loved the camp. It is always great to have highly qualified and experienced coaches guiding our players, with better coaches comes better players. Thank you to all involved in getting this very successful camp for the youth of Cayman, look out for the next edition.”

Grasspiece Promotions thank all the sponsors, participants and volunteers who made the Maples West Ham United Youth Camps a huge success and look forward to hosting many more prestigious youth football camps and events in the near future.