With South Africa's squad for the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations being announced on Tuesday afternoon, a former youth international has sent a warning about playing in a continental tournament abroad.
A number of overseas-based players were selected for the SA U17 team that will go to the competition that is set to take place in Algeria from 29 April to 19 May, and manager Duncan Crowie will be hoping to lead his boys to the title.
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However, playing in a different country often comes with new conditions a player will not have previously experienced.
One footballer who knows about this is Cade Erickson, who was part of Molefi Ntseki's U17 side that was eliminated from the Cosafa U-17 Championship by hosts Mauritius in the semi-finals in 2017.
Erickson has now shared how the team struggled to settle into Mauritius when they initially arrived in the island nation.
"The conditions were dry and terrible. It was extremely hot and we played on a turf. I do not know if they did it to spite us but the only turf that was available was not watered and the quality of the pitch was bad; it was very hard, which caused a lot of small knocks for players. We would have suffered more if it was not for Molefi Ntseki, who made sure that we got there a week before the time so we could prepare while our camp made sure we did a lot of fitness training to help us acclimatise. It definitely played a role in the results," the 20-year-old told KickOff.
The midfielder added that it was difficult at first to build chemistry with his national teammates in such a short span of time.
"It was tough to read each other's runs and figure out how each player likes to receive the ball. However, what helped us is that everyone wanted to show that they are a level above and that made us work extra-hard. Off the field, it was difficult for me as most of the players are from Johannesburg and I was from Cape Town so it felt a bit lonely, but I pushed through."
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Erickson was one of the few young footballers who were part of Ajax Cape Town's Lambda Institute, where the chosen few were coached by Crowie, before he worked with the head coach again at Cape Town Spurs' ABC Motsepe team.
Now based in the United States of America, the Monroe College star also shed some light on why his feels his former manager is the best person for the U17 SA job.
"Duncan is perfect for this group of players. He is very laid-back and lets you do your thing. By that, I mean he gives you an instruction and lets you complete it. Having dealt with Ntseki, I can admit that he [Crowie] is not the most demanding. He is a teacher after all so he knows how to handle a group of individuals," Erickson concluded.
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