Getting the chance to play for the national team is a dream that lives on in almost every athlete, regardless of their sport. When that opportunity arose for Laurentian Lady Vees soccer player, Leah-Marie Ramalho, it was an invitation that she couldn’t turn down; even if it was to represent the small Caribbean nation of Guyana.
Ramalho, a steady sophomore presence on the Lady Vees back line whose father is from Guyana, was completely broadsided by the invitation in August of this year. While competing in Florida with her club team in late July, Ramalho was approached by a representative of the team.
“The team had already had their try-out camp earlier in the summer and pretty much had their team picked,” the second-year Environmental Earth Science student said. “One of the reps of the team came up to me and asked if I was of Guyanese descent. I said I was and the next day, at one of our final games, the national team coach was there watching. I guess he liked what he saw because after the game I was asked if I would like to be a member of the U-20 team.
"I don’t think I could have said yes any faster," Ramalho said with a laugh.
From that point on it was a waiting game for her first international experience as she returned to Sudbury for the OUA season, one that saw the Lady Vees bow out in the OUA East quarterfinals. Ramalho was on a plane a few days later en route to Guyana for the Women’s U-20 World Cup Qualifying Stage I.
The team had three games, of which Ramalho played every, leading a Guyana back line who allowed just one goal in three victories throughout the tournament.
“I knew a couple of girls who I had played against in club but for the most part no one really knew anyone other than from their training camp in the summer,” she said. “With only four native Guyanese on the team, most of has had never been to Guyana before so it was nice to go through that experience with the girls.”
As much as the trip was about soccer and qualifying for the next stage, it was also about much more for many of the players and their families.
“The whole trip was a complete eye-opener," Ramalho said. "Being a third-world country, the way of life down there is completely different. The amount of times we had to stop for cattle and goats on the road was actually comical.
"It even affected our training," the Brampton native added. "One day, we had to shoo the goats away and practice around piles of goat manure because it was the only dry field in the area."
Ramalho said the team was "part of something much bigger and more important," than soccer.
"We took our old jerseys, balls, and shoes to give to the schools down there for their girls’ teams. There is a big grassroots movement to encourage development of homegrown talent and this will only help them.”
Next on the schedule for Ramalho is a trip to Cuba in early January where the Guyanese team will compete against the hosts, Trinidad and Puerto Rico with the goal of reaching the CONCACAF (North America, Central America and the Caribbean) finals, where three teams will qualify for the U-20 World Cup in Uzbekistan in August 2012.
While the ultimate goal is the World Cup, Ramalho said that short-term goals are more realistic.
“Making the CONCACAF Finals would be amazing and really put Guyana on the map for international soccer. To get past that means beating teams like the US, Mexico and of course, Canada, who all have very solid foundations of grassroots programs.”
Ramalho lands in Cuba on Jan. 5 where the Guyana Lady Jags look to book their ticket to Panama for the CONCACAF Championships.
Posted by Laurel Myers
