It’s easy to see why Jeremy Verley wears the captain’s armband for Jamaica’s Under-17 Reggae Boyz. In some cases, donning the armband of a football team captain can be purely ceremonial. But that’s certainly not the case of 15-year-old Verley.
He is a leader on and off the pitchwith his imperious presence in that Jamaican midfield and the respect he commands from his peers. And the way he articulates the game, life and goals, gives the impression that this is the mind of a grown man trapped inside a boy’s body.
He says it like he sees it, and more often than not, he hits the right notes with his views. In other words, he makes sense.
On being appointed captain of the National Under-17 outfit, currently competing in the Caribbean Football Union (CFU) first-round World Cup qualifying play-offs in idyllic US Virgin Islands, Verley says his team has many leaders within its ranks and the armband is more symbolic than anything else.
“We are always told that the captain is someone who wears the band for 90 minutes, but what we have are the leaders on the field, so while I wear the armband, I am the leader, but I do have other leaders around me,” he told the Jamaica Observer at the Windward Passage Hotel here yesterday.
Verley, who attends St George’s College but who would be moving on this summer to a school overseas, claims he is proud to be a part of a team with good players and human beings of admirable character.
“I think this is a good crop of players, not just tactically, technically and physically, but we have bonded as a group and you can see that on the field the way we pass the ball around and complement each other,” he said.
In Jamaica’s 4-1 win over Guyana on Friday at the Lionel Roberts Stadium in their opening game of the four-team group, Verley — not imposing in stature, but a giant of heart, will and football craft — led by example.
“It’s my typical game, as I like to sit behind the midfielders and just ahead of the defenders so I get to control the game from the middle and from there, I get to help dictate the pace of the game. I think it’s an important role and I believe I did well in executing,” he noted.
Reflecting on the game, Verley thought his team was clearly the class act, but conceded that it was not smooth sailing through the 90-plus minutes.
“I thought it was a good performance and I thought we started out really strong, especially in the first 15 to 20 minutes, but we allowed them to get back into the game when they scored that goal, due to a defensive error.
“I thought that after that we regained our composure, and in the second half we gathered ourselves well and were able to retake control and dominate for the rest of the game,” he pointed out.
In today’s game against group leaders Antigua and Barbuda, who defeated hosts US Virgin Islands 5-1 on Friday, Verley and his team are intent in keeping their winning run going.
“First thing we have to do is ensure that we beat Antigua tomorrow (today) and we need to do that by scoring a lot of goals and making sure that our defence is strong.
“When we beat Antigua, we have to go into the Virgin Islands game and score a lot of goals also and that would secure our qualification for the next round,” stated the Harbour View FC youth player.
Verley, who as a 13-year-old had a couple of games with St George’s College’s Manning Cup team in 2014, said Jamaica qualifying for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in India next year would open a lot of doors for the players.
“It would mean a lot (qualifying for the World Cup), for not only me, but the other players, as it could open up opportunities in terms of clubs and schools,” he argued.
Like most boys with big dreams, Verley, too, has his eyes set on a professional career somewhere, someday.
“The first goal is to make it professionally, but where I make it professionally is still to be decided… so it could be in Europe or even in the USA in the MLS, as long as you are getting paid,” said the former Mona Preparatory alumnus.
But if football is unkind to Verley down the road, he has his contingencies in place.
“If football doesn’t work out, I would like to become a doctor or an actuary. An actuary is someone who deals with numbers, like life expectancy and statistics. It’s a very rare career option and they get paid really well,” he said.
Source: The Jamaica Observer