Confident, motivated Teen Ayuyus

CNMI Boys U18 National Team’s starting 11 gather for a group photo before challenging New Yangdong FC last week during a training camp in South Korea. (Contributed Photo)

The CNMI Boys U18 National Team came out confident and motivated after completing a five-day training camp in South Korea last week.

“It was a great training camp. We learned a lot from the Korean and Japanese teams we faced. The boys gained confidence, worked hard to build chemistry, and were motivated to work harder on their games, individually and as a team,” said head coach and Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director Michiteru Mita, who supervised the Teen Ayuyus’ training camp from Aug. 6 to 10 at the Changnyeong Sports Park with the help of assistant coaches Jersh Angeles and Jonathan Takano.

The team dueled Japan’s Kunimi High School and Kyoto Kyoei Gakuen and the hosts’ New Yangdong FC and Gwangju FC, losing all four training matches.

“The boys got confidence even if we lost all our games. In every match, we create some opportunities and we even scored. The boys learned they can score against tough teams,” said Mita.

Sunjoon Tenorio made a goal in the squad’s 1-4 defeat at the hands of Kunimi High School and added one more in their 3-6 loss to Kyoto Kyoei Gakuen. James Ermitanio and Joshua De Leon also hit the board in their game against Kyoto.

“The teams we played against were very organized and skilled. They were very tough defenders and it felt good to be able to beat them and score two goals,” Tenorio said.

Tenorio and company were shut down by New Yangdong FC, 0-3, but Mita felt the Teen Ayuyus played their best game against the Korean squad.

“The boys battled for every possession and we even had several opportunities to score against their tough defense. I felt our team’s potential in that match,” the head coach said.

Mita added that the Teen Ayuyus assessed each match, learning their lapses and finding ways to correct them. After challenging high-level teams, the CNMI players also realized how important it is to create spaces for their teammates, be decisive, and communicate better to keep up with their opponents.

“These teams have good individual players and we can’t beat them if we rely on our individual skills. The boys tried working on their chemistry and they got better each game. They can play here even if they miss, but in the international level they can’t do that, they have to execute their technique under pressure and be quick in making decisions,” the head coach said.

“The players vowed to change their mindset for the AFC tournament. They are more committed to the team and I and the coaching staff reminded them to focus on soccer and maintain the motivation they got through the camp,” Mita added.

The Teen Ayuyus will be competing in the AFC U19 Championship 2018 Qualifiers that will be held from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8. They will be playing against host Australia, Hong Kong, and North Korea.

“We need to get better technically. We know we still have a lot of work to do, and we will continue to work on them,” Tenorio said.