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It was my fault, says Hodges
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS, Assistant Sports Editor
Saturday, May 30, 2009
FALLS CHURCH, Virginia - The name Devon Hodges was on the top of the menu for the media over the past week or so.
Devon Hodges at the Reggae Boyz base at the Fairview Park Marriott Hotels and Resorts in Falls Church, Virginia, yesterday. (Photo: Sean Williams)
They went on a feeding frenzy, lashing the local governing body, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for what they deemed "tardiness" in securing a passport and US visa for the Rivoli United striker to travel with the Reggae Boyz to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last week for a friendly international against Haiti which ended 2-2.
The club's boss Ansel Smart led the onslaught and the media followed. And the tone of some of the comments clearly suggested that Hodges, the Digicel Premier League's (DPL's) top gun with 25 goals, was getting "a fight".
Hodges, after the intervention of the JFF, received his passport and was granted the visa and is currently with the senior Boyz team in the US for a friendly international against El Salvador at the RFK Stadium in Washington today at 7:00 pm.
The 24-year-old player said it was no one's fault that he did not replace a passport destroyed in a fire some five years ago, but his.
"I guess it was my fault, I was just lackadaisical, I did not push myself to get it (passport), so it was my fault," Hodges said from the team hotel in Falls Church, Virginia, yesterday.
In responding to the question that he was not totally prepared for national duty, the bulky striker said: "That's true."
And if Hodges is to be believed, he said despite all the controversy that swirled with him not making the Florida trip after impressing head coach John Barnes, "I was not disappointed".
"I know I would get my chance as long as I kept my composure and be professional," he noted.
Meanwhile, Hodges said the aim at the moment is to put the ugly incident behind and train his focus in cementing a place in the team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA from July 3-26.
"I am leaving everything up to the coach, but I know I have to be professional and work hard if I want to cement a spot in the Gold Cup squad," said the St Ann native who played for Lewis strikers in the parish before moving to Wadahah of St James where he got his first taste of Premier League football.
"My goal in the senior team is just to play good football and show the coach what I can do... I just need to be myself and play my kind of football...," he added.
In six seasons at Rivoli, Hodges, who represented Jamaica at the Under-15 level at a tournament in Trinidad and Tobago in 1998, had a dream run in the recently-concluded DPL, claiming that hard work is the secret to his success.
"Last season I just decided to work harder, a lot of training by myself, and a lot of technical work behind the scene," said the sturdily built frontman who was a nightmare for defenders all season.
Coupled with his new work attitude, Hodges draws inspiration from many sources, including family, friends, his coach at Rivoli, Bradley Stewart, and numerous foreign and local football stars.
"I admire Messi, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Paul 'Tegat' Davis, Theodore Whitmore and Patrick Beach, a close friend of mine," he said.
But his mentor, he claims, is Stewart, a former national coach. "He is always motivating me, telling me to work harder," Hodges noted.
For next season, Jamaica's hottest forward is taking aim at another golden boot.
"I believe next season I will still be at Rivoli, and the goal is to be the leading goalscorer again," he ended.
BY SEAN A WILLIAMS, Assistant Sports Editor
Saturday, May 30, 2009
FALLS CHURCH, Virginia - The name Devon Hodges was on the top of the menu for the media over the past week or so.
Devon Hodges at the Reggae Boyz base at the Fairview Park Marriott Hotels and Resorts in Falls Church, Virginia, yesterday. (Photo: Sean Williams)They went on a feeding frenzy, lashing the local governing body, the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for what they deemed "tardiness" in securing a passport and US visa for the Rivoli United striker to travel with the Reggae Boyz to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, last week for a friendly international against Haiti which ended 2-2.
The club's boss Ansel Smart led the onslaught and the media followed. And the tone of some of the comments clearly suggested that Hodges, the Digicel Premier League's (DPL's) top gun with 25 goals, was getting "a fight".
Hodges, after the intervention of the JFF, received his passport and was granted the visa and is currently with the senior Boyz team in the US for a friendly international against El Salvador at the RFK Stadium in Washington today at 7:00 pm.
The 24-year-old player said it was no one's fault that he did not replace a passport destroyed in a fire some five years ago, but his.
"I guess it was my fault, I was just lackadaisical, I did not push myself to get it (passport), so it was my fault," Hodges said from the team hotel in Falls Church, Virginia, yesterday.
In responding to the question that he was not totally prepared for national duty, the bulky striker said: "That's true."
And if Hodges is to be believed, he said despite all the controversy that swirled with him not making the Florida trip after impressing head coach John Barnes, "I was not disappointed".
"I know I would get my chance as long as I kept my composure and be professional," he noted.
Meanwhile, Hodges said the aim at the moment is to put the ugly incident behind and train his focus in cementing a place in the team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup in the USA from July 3-26.
"I am leaving everything up to the coach, but I know I have to be professional and work hard if I want to cement a spot in the Gold Cup squad," said the St Ann native who played for Lewis strikers in the parish before moving to Wadahah of St James where he got his first taste of Premier League football.
"My goal in the senior team is just to play good football and show the coach what I can do... I just need to be myself and play my kind of football...," he added.
In six seasons at Rivoli, Hodges, who represented Jamaica at the Under-15 level at a tournament in Trinidad and Tobago in 1998, had a dream run in the recently-concluded DPL, claiming that hard work is the secret to his success.
"Last season I just decided to work harder, a lot of training by myself, and a lot of technical work behind the scene," said the sturdily built frontman who was a nightmare for defenders all season.
Coupled with his new work attitude, Hodges draws inspiration from many sources, including family, friends, his coach at Rivoli, Bradley Stewart, and numerous foreign and local football stars.
"I admire Messi, Ronaldo, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Paul 'Tegat' Davis, Theodore Whitmore and Patrick Beach, a close friend of mine," he said.
But his mentor, he claims, is Stewart, a former national coach. "He is always motivating me, telling me to work harder," Hodges noted.
For next season, Jamaica's hottest forward is taking aim at another golden boot.
"I believe next season I will still be at Rivoli, and the goal is to be the leading goalscorer again," he ended.
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