Coleman: Sky is the limit for NMI players

The CNMI’s Krizel Tuazon, right, fights for possession against a Guam player, while the former’s teammate, Sharmaine Francisco gets closer to the play during their game in the 2018 Marianas Cup at the NMI Soccer Training Center in Koblerville. (Contributed Photo)

Former members of the CNMI Women’s National Team believe more opportunities are available for the Commonwealth players nowadays and they should take them.

“Sky is the limit for our players today,” said Patricia Coleman when interviewed during the pilot episode of Footcast with Norman last Saturday.

“There are more opportunities for them made possible by the Northern Mariana Islands Football Association and other organizations and people helping NMI soccer. They could play in college and train off-island,” she added.

During Coleman’s time with the NMI WNT in 2007, they only trained and played at home and since most of them are in their late 20s and early 30s, obviously they were not able to experience playing in the collegiate ranks after suiting up for the Commonwealth.

“That’s why every time we hear CNMI players getting recruited for college, it makes us happy. They have to go out there and be exposed to soccer outside our islands because when they come back and able to help the national team or the clubs, they will also raise the level of play in our FA,” said Coleman, whose daughter Guine also played for the national team and is set to compete for Navarro College in Texas.

Emily Gries-Maxberry, Coleman’s teammate, added that with a lot of options and exposure to soccer off-island, CNMI players must be willing to learn from their coaches and co-players.

In this July 2012 file photo, the CNMI’s Natalie Hill, third left, and Jhaneeka Atalig defends against a Guam player during the EAFF Asian Cup 2013 Preliminary Competition Round 1 at the Leo Palace in Guam. Hill, Patricia Coleman, Emily Gries-Maxberry, and Lindsay Davis graced the pilot episode of Footcast with Norman last Saturday. (Guam Football Association)

“Be open to criticism and accept that you need coaching. You can’t play soccer by yourself. You need your coaches and teammates and this applies not only in soccer, but also in life,” Gries-Maxberry.

The midfielder also encouraged players off to college or any leagues outside the CNMI to come back and play for the national team.

“Playing for a small island is a big part of my playing career. It’s a big honor and one must be willing and ready to play,” said Gries-Maxberry, who already moved back to the mainland, but returned to don the CNMI colors anew in 2009.

Meanwhile, Lindsay Davis, another member of the first NMI WNT, said today’s players are so fortunate to have a facility and other resources (working with visiting coaches, clinics, training camps) to help fast track their development.

Davis recalled that during their time with the national team or when they were still playing in local leagues, they did not have the beautiful pitch like the one in Koblerville (NMI Soccer Training Center). They considered it a luxury playing at the Oleai Sports Complex, as they used to play at the American Memorial Park and the Airport Field where the ball will just stop when it’s muddy and they will get scratches from the wild grass.