Teen Ayuyus to buckle down to work

The CNMI Boys U15 National Team players and officials exchange ideas during a classroom discussion in their training camp in Guam early this week. (Contributed Photo)

The CNMI U15 Boys National Team will only take a brief break before resuming their training in preparation for the AFC U16 Championship 2018 Qualifiers.

“After a few days of rest, we will restart our training,” head coach and Northern Mariana Islands Football Association technical director Michiteru Mita said after the Teen Ayuyus completed a five-day training camp in Guam and returned to Saipan last Tuesday evening.

The team had a lot of work to do with the Asian Football Confederation-sanctioned tournament just two months away. The Group G qualifier where the CNMI will battle Indonesia, Timor-Leste, Laos, and host Thailand will run from Sept. 16 to 24.

“We showed improvement on defense during the camp. However we need to work on our attacking,” Mita said. “To do that, we need to improve the players’ individual technique, especially how they work on that technique or make decisions when they are under pressure.”

The head coach with the help of his assistants Jersh Angeles and Jonathan Takano will also focus on the players’ fitness once they resume training. The group holds practice sessions six times a week, with each training day lasting for two hours.

“We have to improve their stamina and core. We have been working on their physical fitness for the past several months, but they have to work harder to move to the next level,” Mita said.

As for the training camp in Guam, the NMIFA technical director said it was very helpful to the team.

“It was a success as the boys learned a lot about team concept. They played for the team and played to win,” Mita said.

The Teen Ayuyus had their first training match against Guam’s U16 Boys National Team last Saturday and forced a draw, 2-all, while they beat Dededo FC/Wings FC U15 last Sunday, 5-0. For their last two friendly games, the visiting squad held Guam U16 to another draw last Monday, 2-2, and also had a standoff against the Islanders last Tuesday, 3-3.

“The boys showed good fighting sprit to win the last two games despite being physically tired after two matches. Both games were competitive and we learned that one miss in the match can change the results,” Mita said.

Besides the training matches, Mita and his assistants also had classroom discussions with the team.

“It was good that we spent time together because the coaching staff learned that many boys need to change their eating habits to build their stamina and core. We are able to advise them,” said Mita, adding that the group is thankful to NMIFA president Jerry Tan, Guam Football Association, the players’ parents and their other supporters for making the training camp possible.

Twenty-two players attended the camp and the list includes John Michael Rojas, Joshua Mendez, Floyd Muna, John Martin Palad, Jason Quimzon, Ichiro and Taka Borja, Eunsyu Hahn, Ian Maniago, Terrance Montenegro, Jhoey Noble, Mark Salamat, Razeff Altamirano, Kirt Andon, Aloyzeus Angeles, John Guiller Canape, Edward Cho, Sebastian Manabat, Joseph Rasa, Joshua Waldo, Mark Esalan, and Reginald Pascual. The Teen Ayuyus will play a couple of more training matches against other teams on Saipan this month and in August, and hopefully one more friendly game versus a visiting squad before they head to Thailand for the qualifier.