My wife and I were both born in Trinidad and Tobago (we met in high school). A former teammate of mine (Jerry Moe) was running an intramural program in Westchester and asked me if I would be interested. I had no experience in coaching but was willing to try. After my first session I realized I loved teaching and had to be creative in my methods as the level of the players was not what I expected.
Key influences in my soccer journey would be Jean Lillywhite, he was my first coach and his focus on proper technique has led to my emphasis on technique must be right always. Alvin Corneal was another major influence as I came to America with his team where we played in several tournaments. His teaching on tactics helped me to understand the game from a different perspective and made me appreciate the beauty of the different types of systems and how to play them. Jamaal Shabazz was a teammate with me on the team that toured the US, as well as played on the same high school team. He started coaching our club team at a very young age and helped me to understand that talent alone does not get you playing time. You needed to outwork everyone who played your position and performed consistently to maintain your position on the team.
The greatest challenge from coaching my first team to now is preparing a team to play with the possibility that every week players may be missing due to conflicts with other sports. This was a culture shock as to how many different activities players actually participate in. In Trinidad we played soccer all year and cricket in the cricket season. The accomplishments that are dearest to me is to see some of the players that I trained years ago are police officers, some are investment bankers, nurses and one is an NBA player.
Red Bulls gave me the peace of mind to do something I truly enjoy and get paid for it. It helps me drop my stress level after a mentally exhausting day. I wish that this could be a full-time career.
The hope that I can make a positive impact in someone's life.”
Current Position: Coach in Rockville Centre SC
Joined Red Bulls Youth Programs: August 2014
