Kanoa FC players off to training camp

Kanoa Football Club players gather for a photo at the departure area of the Francisco C. Ada/Saipan International Airport yesterday before they head to the Philippines for a training camp. (Contributed Photo)

Kanoa Football Club’s female players left for the Philippines yesterday for a three-week training camp at the Tuloy Foundation’s XO Field.

Kialeen Leemarvin, Abegail and Destinee Decena, Ericka Santiago, Hannah Santos, Kiara Manganti, Ye Leen Ha, Donna Kapileo, Therese Toves, Sharmaine Francisco, and Khristelle Itaas were joined on the trip by coach Cristy Villaflor. Paulynn Joyce and Sophia Quintos are also part of the group and will be reunited their teammates next week, as the two players are still in Mokpo, Korea playing for the CNMI Girls U15 National Team in the 2019 East Asian Football Federation U15 Girls Festival. Completing the squad are Hope and Maya McQuay, and Isabel Manabat, who are set to leave Saipan on Aug. 13.

“The training camp will help our players improve their individual and team skills, as they will be working out with Tuloy coaches, too and will be playing several training matches,” Kanoa FC president Merlie Tolentino said.

“The girls are looking forward for this opportunity, as they know they will learn a lot from the training camp and they will come back to Saipan with a better understanding of the sport and themselves,” Villaflor said.

Besides their regular training sessions and friendly matches, Kanoa’s female players will also get involved in outreach programs organized by Tuloy Foundation, a non-profit group that takes care of underprivileged children in the Philippines by providing them with education, accommodation, and other opportunities to enrich their lives.

“The training camp will not only focus on soccer, but also about life’s lessons, as we want our players to learn values through their interactions with the children at Tuloy. Through their participation in Tuloy’s programs, they will experience how it feels like to serve and give back, especially to people who are in need,” Tolentino added.

As for the soccer side of the camp, Itaas, one of the veterans on the squad, said the PH trip will allow her teammates to experience high-level training sessions that are somehow similar to what CNMI national team members are used to.

“The training camp is intense and is a different level compared to our usual practice sessions. There’s more time to train and work on our skills and react on on different game situations since we will be playing against several Tuloy players. This will definitely push us harder,” Itaas said.

Santiago, on the other hand, said the training camp will be a good opportunity to develop the team’s chemistry, especially there are new players moving up to Kanoa’s U16 squad—the champion of the 2019 Northern Marianas Islands Football Association Youth Spring League.

“This is a perfect chance to integrate our new and young players into our system of play and help them get familiarized with the coaches and other members of the team. Unity and chemistry are some of the important factors in the club’s successes in the past several years,” said Santiago.

The training camp, which will start today and ends on Aug. 28, is also timely, as the club is getting ready for the 2019 NMIFA Youth Fall League that will kick off next month. (PR)