Vincentian coach Desmond Morris publishes ‘150+ Soccer Skills Playbook’

NEW YORK, United States. Desmond V. Morris, one of the most influential Vincentian-born football coaches, has written “150+ Soccer Skills Playbook”, a training resource for players, parents and coaches.

Mr Morris, a Connecticut-based former St Vincent and the Grenadines national player known for his Touchmasters Soccer Training System (TSTS), told Caribbean Life on Friday, June 5, that the book offers a “comprehensive, modern training resource designed to elevate technical ability, confidence and on field performance.”

More than 150 drills

“With more than 150 drills covering ball mastery, dribbling, passing, receiving, finishing, agility and game intelligence development, the Playbook is designed to help athletes train with purpose and coaches run efficient, high impact sessions,” said Mr Morris, a former physical education teacher and founder of Volley King LLC.

Asked how he felt about publishing the book, he said he felt “completed and accomplished.”

“It has been a lifelong mission, a mission accomplished; A mission to help kids in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and globally,” he said.

Closing the gap

He said the book would reduce his time on the field and his travel between the US and St Vincent and the Grenadines, and was timely as it comes out before the World Cup.

“As we look at the imbalance of soccer played in poor countries and rich countries, I ponder on how and when small countries, like St. Vincent and the Grenadines, will close the gap,” he said.

Family roots

Mr Morris thanked his parents, Stanley and Constance Morris, and his siblings. He followed his brothers Stanley and Alexander to the Layou Government School playground, where he began playing at the age of four. The three brothers played for the Vincentian national team of 1979.

As youth captain of St Vincent and the Grenadines, he said, he won three championships and competed in the Caribbean-American Cup tournament in Brooklyn.

He holds a degree in physical education and Spanish from Davis and Elkins College in West Virginia and a US Soccer Federation National “A” licence. He said he has mentored more than 180 players to NCAA Division I scholarships and guided several into Major League Soccer, and is a scout for an MLS team.

The book is available in print and digital formats from the author and from Amazon.