Sporting Goa's Javier Cabrera happy with the progress of SCG Academy

Javier Cabrera

“I am extremely happy with the progress made by the players at the SCG Academy since its inception three months ago,” remarked Sporting Clube de Goa’s Head of Youth development, Javier Cabrera.

The SCG Academy which is situated at Don Bosco in Panjim, caters for all the competitive playing age groups which include Under-14, U-16, U-18 and U-20, with also a community programme devised for the U-10 and U-12 categories.

Javier feels that the technical ability of his U-14 players is very high and is looking forward to developing them tactically with a competitive mind set. His short term goals are to introduce his methodology this season and make sure the players understand the technical, tactical, physical and psychological components thoroughly.

His long term goals are to be able to recommend at least two to three U-20 players each year to Sporting Clube de Goa Head Coach Oscar Bruzon. The Spaniard also believes with the hard work and determination that the older age groups are showing they could be mounting a serious challenge for the U-20 Taca Goa league and even the U-19 I-League crown next season.

“The older boys are training five days a week and I am confident they will be able to contest for major honours next season,” stated Javier.

Javier has created 45 parameters to assess each player scientifically, which will be observed and analysed every six weeks to ensure the wards are progressing at the right pace.

The Spaniard has also been organising friendly matches, as he believes it is very important for young players to be playing at least one friendly match per week. For the younger students he hopes more festivals are organised so that they also get a feel for competition in a fun environment.

If there was one thing that Javier would like to see improved, it’s the announcement of the age group tournaments well in advance. “As a coach it is very important to have a calendar for competition. This will form the base for planning a quality week-to-week season long programme which can be tweaked accordingly,” signed off Javier.