Aldwynable

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Football Progression
Page 21
Aldwyn “Midget” McGill, Val ‘Chaulky’’ Sebro, Victor “Bigger” McGill,
The last of my size disappointments
occurred at a national Under 19 training
under English coach Michael Laing and
Trevor Smith at the Fatima College Ground
in Mucurapo, Port of Spain. The training was
to pick a team for a trip to Bermuda and
when the names for the tour were called
after the practice, there was a pause and
then my name was mentioned.
The pause was to inform me that the
scouting report "indicated that the players in
Bermuda were bigger than those of my
statue", hence I was not selected for the trip.
It was a bitter-sweet moment. The bitter
because it was another occasion when I was
overlooked because of size; the sweet,
because the tour was cancelled and my size
was never used to eliminate me from team
selection. However, my passing grade came
when I was sub into a game against a rough
Defense Force team and injured the biggest
guy on the pitch, Philbert Prince. It is a
lasting memory for my relieved brother
Victor who was consulted and seemed to
have agreed for me to enter the game.
While that was my last test for size it was
Polly Regis and Maple club who deserve
credit for putting me in the sights of national
as one of the youngest players to have
played in the POSFL U-19 Juvenile League.
I returned to Morvant where my teams won
and the perception of my size disappeared.