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SPOTLIGHT ~ Navion Boyd (Tivoli Gardens FC)
Byghost@premidictor.net
Friday, February 01st , 2008
A youngster on the rise
Navion Boyd
Little is known about Tivoli’s young striker Navion Boyd. However, that little was impressive enough for Rene Simoes to consider him for a place in the national setup. Boyd has only scored three goals for Tivoli this season but his play on the field has been impressive.
Still a youngster in the grand scheme of things, the former Wolmer’s Boy has been impressing from an early age. Much smaller at the time, Boyd was notorious for not being afraid to turn on the tricks no matter what stage the game was at. That kind of bravado meant he was going to go places and although a call-up to the national under-23 team did not bear fruit, Boyd has continued to grow from strength to strength. As a matter of fact, that description is more than just a statement about his skill and know-how on the field but speaks to his physical growth. While not by any stretch of the imagination a big player, he is far larger than his schoolboy days would suggest he would have been.
He is physically strong and while not blessed with real pace, is tricky enough to get by defenders nonetheless. What has been the most noted improvement in his game though, is his ability to recognise other players in better positions than himself. He has learnt the passing game.
Earlier in his career, he was more known as a dribbler, who will crack open defences to give himself goalscoring opportunities. Today he cracks open those defences with the intention of finding his strike partner or one of Tivoli’s ever-overlapping players. This requires a certain level of maturity on the youngster’s part. That maturity has certainly made him a better player.
The youngster’s class is undeniable and that has been shown in the coach’s willingness to play him even though he has the option of players like Roland Dean and Christopher Nicholas, who are notoriously dangerous and vastly experienced players.
The bravado I spoke about is still there. On one of those occasions when the youngster dropped down to play in the Under-21 competition, I saw him pick up a ball at the top of the 18-yard box and look to send one of two players that had made runs ahead of him. Noticing they were offside he checked his movement. In that split second he noticed the players around him weren’t being as attentive as they should and he curled the ball around the goalkeeper from the same position before running off to celebrate. At any level of football, international or otherwise, that would make for a beautiful goal.
It is moments like that that makes Boyd a perfect candidate for the ‘Spotlight’. However, these moments need to increase in frequency and sometimes I get the impression that the 20-year-old doesn’t always know how good he is. Confidence is all-important in sports and it is the hope of this column that for football’s sake, Boyd realizes this and finds a way to motivate himself and become the confident striker he should be.
Byghost@premidictor.net
Friday, February 01st , 2008
A youngster on the rise
Navion Boyd
Little is known about Tivoli’s young striker Navion Boyd. However, that little was impressive enough for Rene Simoes to consider him for a place in the national setup. Boyd has only scored three goals for Tivoli this season but his play on the field has been impressive.
Still a youngster in the grand scheme of things, the former Wolmer’s Boy has been impressing from an early age. Much smaller at the time, Boyd was notorious for not being afraid to turn on the tricks no matter what stage the game was at. That kind of bravado meant he was going to go places and although a call-up to the national under-23 team did not bear fruit, Boyd has continued to grow from strength to strength. As a matter of fact, that description is more than just a statement about his skill and know-how on the field but speaks to his physical growth. While not by any stretch of the imagination a big player, he is far larger than his schoolboy days would suggest he would have been.
He is physically strong and while not blessed with real pace, is tricky enough to get by defenders nonetheless. What has been the most noted improvement in his game though, is his ability to recognise other players in better positions than himself. He has learnt the passing game.
Earlier in his career, he was more known as a dribbler, who will crack open defences to give himself goalscoring opportunities. Today he cracks open those defences with the intention of finding his strike partner or one of Tivoli’s ever-overlapping players. This requires a certain level of maturity on the youngster’s part. That maturity has certainly made him a better player.
The youngster’s class is undeniable and that has been shown in the coach’s willingness to play him even though he has the option of players like Roland Dean and Christopher Nicholas, who are notoriously dangerous and vastly experienced players.
The bravado I spoke about is still there. On one of those occasions when the youngster dropped down to play in the Under-21 competition, I saw him pick up a ball at the top of the 18-yard box and look to send one of two players that had made runs ahead of him. Noticing they were offside he checked his movement. In that split second he noticed the players around him weren’t being as attentive as they should and he curled the ball around the goalkeeper from the same position before running off to celebrate. At any level of football, international or otherwise, that would make for a beautiful goal.
It is moments like that that makes Boyd a perfect candidate for the ‘Spotlight’. However, these moments need to increase in frequency and sometimes I get the impression that the 20-year-old doesn’t always know how good he is. Confidence is all-important in sports and it is the hope of this column that for football’s sake, Boyd realizes this and finds a way to motivate himself and become the confident striker he should be.
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