Donovan Duckie - Photo by Jermaine Lannaman

In an effort to enhance their physical stature for the final round of the CONCACAF Under-20 World Cup qualifiers, Jamaica's junior Reggae Boyz began a six-week fitness pro-gramme yesterday.

The programme is under the watchful eyes of coach Donovan Duckie, physical trainer Dexter Gilmore and Dr Carlton Fraser at the Gymkhana gymnasium, at the Hilton Kingston hotel.

The final round of the tournament will be held in Trinidad and Tobago from March 6 to 15 at the Dwight Yorke Stadium.

The Jamaicans are drawn in Group B, along with the United States, El Salvador and the winners of the play-off between Honduras and St Vincent and The Grenadines. Mexico, Costa Rica, Canada and host Trinidad and Tobago are in Group A.

The top two teams from each group will automatically qualify for the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt, which runs from September 25 to October 16.

"I thought that when we played against the last teams in the (Caribbean) final leg, those teams gave us an idea of what is to come in the CONCACAF final in terms of the physical characteristic of those players. I think that they will be a lot more explosive and also stronger than the Caribbean teams," said Duckie. "This will help us to enhance the develop-ment of our physical condition to be very competitive against them. It will also help us in our injury rehabilitation and to prevent injuries and also to develop specific explosiveness with more resistance training."

Enthusiastic attitude

Dr Fraser said he was pleased with the players' attitude.

"The enthusiasm that the players showed for the exercise and the manoeuvres is very interesting because what actually created this ... is that when we first examined the players, there was general weakness in them, which was totally unsatisfactory and we decided that this will be the next step," he said. "They are at a fitness level that we are satisfied with, but not fully comfortable with because we are quite aware that they can go further."

Dr Fraser also pointed out that the day's focus was on reducing stamina limitations.

"We are going to tackle all of the inadequacies. We are going to focus on the general improvement of their physical status and fitness," he said.

Meanwhile, Duckie said he was aware of the challenges of the tournament.

"I think our group is going to be the more competitive of the two. However, we are pretty confident in ourselves because we know what we are about and have our style of play and we have our own identity. We have been winners and we want to continue on that path."

Duckie added they were hoping to play at least two friendly international games before they leave for the twin-island republic.

"It is going to be tough, but I think that the guys are ready and we are further enhancing our preparation by going to the gym," he said.