Bahamians bring home beach soccer gold

Sun, Aug 31st 2014, 11:06 PM

Ehren Hanna and Christopher Davis, two Bahamian beach soccer national team players, successfully completed their stint with the BSC Sable Dancers Bern in the Suzuki Swiss Beach Soccer League, helping the Sable Dancers to win the overall title. The duo recently returned home.
The season had already begun when Hanna and Davis arrived in Bern, Switzerland, but that only added to the tremendous season the Sable Dancers were experiencing. In their debut match, both Hanna and Davis earned their places on the squad, the number one beach soccer club in Switzerland.
Hanna, who was the alternate for Charles Tearii Labaste (last year's top goal scorer), scored two goals and had two assists in that first match. Davis also played well that match. From there, the two were constantly in camp with the team, where they trained daily, sometimes twice a day. Besides their usual club training, the pair also trained with the Swiss national team and with Paulo Balico, a former world kickboxing champion.
The BSC Sable Dancers Bern consists of five Swiss national team players, five Tahiti national team players and the two Bahamian national team players. Switzerland is ranked number eight and Tahiti is at number four in the world. The team's coach Angelo Schirinzi is also the chief executive officer (CEO)/Founder of Swiss Beach Soccer, coach of the Swiss national team and coach of the Tahiti national team.
"Ehren and Chris have improved tremendously this summer. They have learned new techniques and developed their overall technical ability and have maintained satisfactory role performances on the team. They have learned a lot about and from the league. We look forward to seeing them again soon and working with Bahamas Beach Soccer," he said.
"As soon as we arrived, we had to immediately adjust to world-class level of play with teammates and the no-nonsense coaching of Angelo Schirinzi," Davis said. "It was an honor to train with the Swiss national team, training and playing against the likes of players like Noel Ott (2014 most valuable player (MVP) of the European Beach Soccer League) and Dejan Stankovic (2009 World Cup MVP and Golden Boot winner).
"Every training session and game was a significant learning experience. I felt privileged to play with and against some of the elite beach soccer players in the world on a daily basis. We learned a ton from our nine weeks there. We can see and feel the improvement in each other's game," Davis added.
The Suzuki Swiss Beach Soccer League featured players from Morocco, France, Italy, Romania, The Bahamas, Hungary, Jamaica and Trinidad.
"Our season here was great! Our training and playing experience was the best, being among some of the world's best players. We have developed immensely as players and administrators/facilitators and are excited to be back home so we can continue to develop Bahamas Beach Soccer. There is so much potential for the sport in our country, not only for Bahamians to play on a world-class level but also for The Bahamas to facilitate world-class events.
"We look forward to working with the national team and Quality Beach Soccer Club and camps, so that in 2015, maybe The Bahamas could introduce its own beach soccer league," Hanna expressed. "We would like to thank God firstly for putting us in position, the Bahamas Football Association, Angelo Schirinzi, Swiss Beach Soccer and the Sable Dancers, the members and fans of Quality Beach Soccer Club, the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Coach Roberto Cecilianos and our family and friends who have supported us."
The Bahamas Football Association (BFA) staged a welcome home reception for Hanna and Davis on Friday.

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