Welcome back to Target USA CUP, ESM Cayman! This is the 9th time that the Cayman Islands has competed at USA CUP, and they’re ready to give it their all this week.
ESM Cayman was founded by Winston Chung in 1999. Today, ESM is run by Virgil Seymour. Fun fact: Winston was Virgil’s coach back in the day! Virgil stated that even at the start, ESM was special because Winston “made his players believe that they could achieve anything.”
Virgil has emulated many of Winston’s philosophies since taking over as head coach. When Virgil came on board, his goal was to expand the club beyond the youth level. Since Virgil joined a few years ago, the club has grown immensely, and today it is one of the most recognized clubs on the island.
Chelsea Brown, a youth soccer coach with ESM, explained that ESM is unique because it is a youth development program that focuses on children ages 5 to 13. Within this program are private training sessions where the athletes are able to master skills. Once a skill is mastered, a new skill is learned.
I was able to watch the U10 and U13 boys teams compete, and they sure are a force to be reckoned with! Check out these action photos from their games on 7/13:
Before their game, I spoke with U13 players Jaico and Jovani, and I asked them a hard-hitting question: What are you most excited for during the remainder of the week? Here’s what they had to say:
Jaico: “Playing in the tournament and hopefully entering the finals.”
Jovani: “I’m excited to get better as a group and hopefully make it to the finals and win.”
We wish you the best of luck, ESM Cayman!