Leacroft Lettman, who currently heads Jamaica’s U20 Reggae Girlz, has been appointed interim coach of the senior women’s side for the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games. Regular head coach Hubert Busby will not travel to the tournament because of a family commitment.
Busby outlined the arrangement at a Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) media briefing yesterday, saying he will support the camp from afar while Lettman directs the team on the ground.
“I will not be with the group,” Busby said. “Coach Lettman will be the head coach of the group and I will continue to work with them in an advisory role, but I will not be with the group due to previous family commitments. “I’m still here for the group and we’ll continue to work together leading up to and through the [CAC] Games with Coach Lettman.”
The CAC assignment marks Lettman’s debut as senior-team head coach, though he already knows the women’s national setup well. He has previously assisted Busby and also served under former Reggae Girlz coach Xavier Gilbert. Those stints, he said, leave him assured he can handle the temporary post.
“I’ve been working closely with coach Busby. I’ve been at the senior team training sessions in Kingston and presently, when they were in Montego Bay, I’m at the training,” he said. “I was with some of the Girlz with Xavier when we went to Panama and Guatemala to play, so I have some little familiarisation with those girls.”
Club duties have ruled out several established stars, so Lettman’s CAC squad will lean heavily on younger talent. Having already guided Jamaica’s U17 and U20 women, he will reunite with players he developed earlier in the pathway — a link he cites as further reason for his interim selection.
“There is a transition from the U17 to the U20 and then into the senior group,” Lettman explained. “As coaches within the female programme, we work very closely together as one coaching unit.”
Even without Busby and some regulars, Lettman still anticipates a competitive showing. He stressed that wearing national colours remains a privilege and that whoever is available must give full effort.
“Once we’re in the seat of the national programme, we always tend to put our best foot forward with whichever players we have to work with,” he said. “We want to get the camaraderie together and also understand the mindset of the players. We have to ensure everyone understands what we want from this tournament.”
Jamaica’s CAC Games history is thin: one victory from six matches in two previous campaigns. The Girlz open in Group B against Mexico, Colombia and Puerto Rico.
Syndicated from Jamaica Gleaner · originally published .
