CAY HILL--Coach of Oualichi Soccer Team Michael Dort, which competed in the Dutch Caribbean Cup last weekend, told The Daily Herald he was "proud" of his team's performance in the tournament.
Four teams in Qualichi (St. Maarten), SV Britannia (Aruba), SUBT Korsou and a selection from Bonaire participated in the tournament. After the round-robin format was completed, SV Britannia (Aruba) won all their matches to place first, SUBT Korsou was second after winning two matches, the Bonaire Selection was third after winning one match and the home team was fourth after losing all three matches.
Coach Dort, who has been coaching the team for just over a year, when asked how he viewed the team's performance in the tournament, stated, “I think we did a good job. I'm very proud of the team, because it’s not easy to be behind and still stay positive, and (to keep) giving the better teams a hard time. We are improving step by step."
Asked to outline what specific improvement he saw in the team, the coach stated, "I saw that the team was fighting for one another. Plus they stick to the game plan." The coach, nevertheless, wanted to see his team improve tactically, “I would like them to understand that movement without the ball is a very important aspect of the game. I would like us to dribble less and pass more." The Oualichi girls displayed a decent level of ball-control skills, but not at the level of the other 3 teams.
Asked to differentiate the difference between the local level of soccer compared to the overseas teams, Coach Dort opined, "The biggest difference is the mentality and the mind-set of the players, but we are improving step by step."
Oualichi has been in existence for close to 4 years, and is just one of the two female soccer teams on the island. There are 17 members on the team. They train every Monday and Wednesday at Raoul Illidge Sports Complex, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm.
Asked about his future plans for the team, the coach stated, "We’ll keep training and hopefully we can play weekly games so we can improve more." On a personal note, the coach hopes to acquire his C and D coaching license, which he believes will help to improve the level of instructions to his team.
The members of Oualichi are: Maeve De Bruijne #10, Veronica Duzant #17, Jeltsje Osie #14, Marijke Osie #16, Melisha Brooks #26, Kiana Blanc # 6, Sullivienne Wilson #25, Arti Gianchandani #8, Whitney Walsh #1, Kristy St. Jago #7, Melanie Steele #9, Louise Bousseta #18, Shanika St. Romain #4, Sharia Bommel #19, Danaë Daal #12, Makayla #11, and Nadine #22.
