 Yeah, turning to football on the Sports Mag Zone, the MLS has long been a route which many Caribbean natives have taken to play top-level football with several success stories emerging throughout the years. Many of those players toured through American collegiate scene and were selected via the MLS Superdraft with names such as Darren Mattox, who was selected second overall in 2012 and Andre Blake, who was selected first overall in 2014 being standouts. Over the past few seasons, Jamaica has produced more prodigious talents who have taken that same route with Justin McCaster being drafted 17th overall in 2021. Our guest today, who recently was drafted at 16th by Real Salt Lake, a team which has a rich history of Jamaican players. You might have guessed it already. You probably have with us in studios Jamaica's latest MLS draft tee, Matthew Bell, and a man that helped guide him along his journey. Technical director of a Kingston Football Academy, Eric Radamakas, a gentleman. It's a pleasure to have you on the Sports Mag Zone. Of course, Eric, you are no stranger to this stage. Well, maybe this studio, but not the Sports Mag stage. So it's a pleasure to have you back. And Matthew, it's a pleasure to have you on the show as well. Let me start with you, Matthew, because I want to get an understanding of your journey to this stage. Track that for me. What has that looked like? Well, I went to Kingston College. I played Pepsi Colds, Manning Cup. And then after that, there was a COVID period where there was nothing going on. And I started training with coach Eric at Kingston Football Academy. And then I got an invitation to play in America in Boston at Valeo FC. And I went to a prep school over there called South Kent Circle. And that's when Marshall saw me, my university. And I played two seasons there and got drafted. Yeah. Tell me about your time at Kingston College and what that was like in terms of your football development. So I was always around players who were faster than me. And coaches would prefer using the faster players up front. And I had to rely on my technical ability and my mental side of the game thinking quickly. And I think that's what gives me the edge when I develop that speed later on in my life. And that gives me the edge among a lot of players. And just thinking quickly and having that pace as well, it's a really big thing. Yeah. Was that a diplomatic way of saying you were not a starter at Kingston College? No. I think it's known. Really, I wasn't really playing that much at KSC. And it's helped me. I wouldn't change anything in the steps that I've taken. And it's really pushed me to prove to myself that I think I'm good enough. And I think I was good enough back then, but just showing that maybe I should have played, but I'm grateful for everyone who's helped me. And that certainly helped me become who I am today. Yeah, important that you made that point. Because I was just about to ask you, in the moments being at Kingston College, not getting as much game time as you probably felt your talent deserved, what was it like then? So it was hard for sure. I always believed in myself. And even last night, I was with one of my friends who told me four years ago that someone on the team was starting over me, that he was better than me. And I told him, I'm going to prove you wrong. I'm going to remember this. And last night, I brought it up because I saw him again. And I never forget those. I think it's motivation that everyone could use. And if you take it positively, and you put in the work, and good things will happen. Yeah, Eric, what did you see in him? I mean, it was, as he mentioned, at KSC, it was a little bit rough. And Ashton Blankson, who I work with, always very close with, partly director of the academy. He said, I have to watch Matthew, because I think it was against Calabar, pre-season game. And we went to watch over there, over at Barbican Field. And I mean, so lively, you know, from the start, you see, like, this guy just runs for every ball. And when he runs, there's so much explosiveness in it. And both of us were like, what, you know, why don't really play too much more. And those things, well, usually, as I say, when players don't have the game time, they might get motivation from that. And it's definitely something that we saw, that drive, as I say, I'm always believing himself. And I think it's great to see that he didn't give up and go down with it and say, there's new opportunities at home. And he took them when they got in front of him. Yeah, Eric, you know, I wanted you to express something that I think is lost on a lot of football fans, because whenever I hear recruits talk about what they look for in a player, quite often, some of the things they talk about aren't the things that the average fan looks for. So we will see a player with a lot of ballhanding skills, and they look impressive and so on. And when you hear a recruit talking about the things that they look for, like leadership and attitude, there's a little bit of a difference in what, you know, these international recruits look for. Definitely. But when you start talking more to Scouts, and in person have the eye for it, you start to realize I was just having a conversation with the international scouts, and he was mentioning a lot about longevity and their motivation. So the early you can recognize that somebody's motivation is not linked to a certain incident, but he has that all the way. He said the percentage that he will make it goes up tremendously. Having that said, the first thing is you have to see a certain talent and a certain gift, that natural ability. But I think when Scouts talk more about those things, you reach the stage that you already recognized, all of the guys on our list have a certain amount of talent. So now we're going to look at those other things that make it a lot more likely to deal with it. As I just mentioned, I joked four years ago again, I won't get it back, but there's a certain drive that shows in those things that I think is needed if you really want to deal with the pressure at a higher level. And it's difficult to train, so you have to look for characteristics in a person that makes you assume when there's 50,000 people shouting at him, can he still stay focused? And yeah, it's a game that they're playing, but as they say, it's up to the players to put their teeth in it and say, I go and show him. Yeah. All right, Matthew, talk to us about the quality of football that you're exposed to in the USA, because globally, people don't have high regard for US football, even though, you know, if you look at US football, they are very organized. And in my estimation, quite often underestimated the collegiate level in the US, give me your assessment of it, having played in it, and also your expectation for MLS, because MLS has grown, I think, exponentially in the past decade and a half from where it was in the mid 90s when it really took off. So collegiate first and then talk to us about embracing an MLS opportunity. So I think overall, the whole game in the US is just fast paced team, a team game. And that's kind of the big difference with here. And in the US, here is more individual, you rely on one or two players to just do some magic. Over there, it's tactical, it's everyone has a job, everyone's dedicated to doing their job. And it's just very stamina based as well, pressing hard for 90 minutes. You know, and in the MLS, I think I'm expecting the same, honestly, because those are the type of players that they look for in college. So I'm just expecting I'm with a lot of internationals coming in like bigger names, messy swarries. You know, I'm waiting until it gets a bit like more individualistic. But right now, I know that it's just like fast paced, you know, very stamina wise. And that's what I'm looking forward to. Yeah, it's interesting that you say that because earlier you spoke about your time at Kingston College and how the coaches would go for the faster players. Whereas you were a different type of player, do you think the US system and the way they play on the team type of football has assisted significantly in your success because of the style? Yeah, I think what one thing that we use, we were down here is fast paced, and that's how most players get to a high level. But you have to start thinking the game mentally. You have to start thinking tactically as well. It's just coaches give instructions. And if you can't follow the instructions, you'll find someone else in your spot. And I think that's the difference. Yeah, Eric, can you make a quick comment to advance the point that Matthew made just now about the MLS? Because in a couple of months, he will be with the Real Salt Lake looking for game time and so on. How do you feel about the MLS as a platform for Caribbean players to embrace and ultimately develop their talent? I mean, it's right next door. So we have to embrace it as a serious opportunity. But as you said, there is a difference in how they experience football. You even see that at the youth level, college level, that there's unlimited substitutions most of the times, which allows for the game to be a lot more high stamina. You keep running, you keep going. And we made some trips out there and the football is in a different level. Now, as Matthew says, I think with more European influences coming in at that highest level, you're probably going to see, at least at MLS level, a bit more likewise football as we see in other parts of the world, which might make it better for our players to eventually maybe make that transition as well. So I think we can just hope to continue that European influence to see that in the MLS, because I think the majority of the players do want to at some point have that experience in Europe as well. Yeah. But it's a good point that you've just made, because the influx of European stars, Leonid Messi the latest, and we're hearing Suarez going to Miami as well, but there was Ibrahimovic before, and Wayne Rooney. And not just player level, but when you see on the coaching level, the organizational level, you see more and more American institutions, organizations choose for personal European experience. So even from the structure side, I think in the future, we're going to see more similar approaches in MLS as what we've seen in Europe. Yeah. Well, Eric just said it, Matthew, and I'm not sure if you concur, but the MLS is a vehicle to advance your professional status as a player. But do you, like Eric just suggested, have European ambitions as well? Not right now. I think I'm just focused on playing and getting to learn and grow as a player at Real Salt Lake. Maybe if opportunities come up based on how well a player will fit into their system, if something comes up, maybe if I consider it to be a good choice, but I know it's just Real Salt Lake of mine. Yeah, you know, the Jamaica Under 20 coach, John Wall, has kickstarted the conversation about best route for development and transition into the professional ranks coming out of Jamaica specifically, but I guess on a wider scale, the Caribbean, because there are many similarities in how we operate across the Caribbean when it comes to football development. Transitioning from high school football in Jamaica slash the Caribbean to a U.S. college NCAA football into the MLS, do you think that has been an under utilised route for our players? I think we very much have a look at each individual player that we see at a certain level, so I think it's part of us, yes development is key, but we have to put a lot more emphasis on creating opportunities than maybe other countries and players from America or from Europe and each player has a different situation and different opportunity and definitely the college route is one that I think a lot of players actually go through. I think we can put a lot more emphasis on creating those opportunities, especially when you look at the schoolboy level. I don't think anybody from Clarenin College, from Glenmure, from Kingston College should not go to college, because you have that platform, you reach to the final, you lift trophies, should we create a team to push them more in there, but what is the best opportunity? I think each player has a look at where are you right now, which opportunities do you get? If a club from Europe calls and say we have an opportunity, are you really going to go to college? You know? Maybe for some players, the study route is not really a great one for that one. So look at individual players and what you can, but have that open mind that college boarding school is one that you can also work. But there's a preparation aspect, isn't there, because if you're going to go to college route, you can't wait until it's your final year of high school before you make that decision. So one thing that we really try to do, and what we say to our more elite players that are at a higher level, we prepare for the European standard, for the professional standard, because MLS is definitely at a higher level with it, so we prepare for the professional standard, but really our aim, the lowest level we want to go is college. So while you reach your third form, fourth form, you start show interest, which colleges would I like to go to, which subjects would I do, and in fourth form, fifth form, you have these applications out, you have footage ready, you send to college coaches. Now maybe college says we like you, if you get an opportunity in Europe, nothing wrong with calling the coach and say sorry, but I got a better opportunity, but a lot of times we find ourselves not getting the European opportunity, not the professional opportunity, and we don't have the preparation put in for college. So I think that is a crucial part, we can do a lot better, prepare for college while still aiming for as high as possible, but at least you have that route ready for you in case it doesn't work out. I love the way you put that. By the way, Matthew, at what stage of your own development did you realize the options available to you, both from a US collegiate standpoint and a wider professional standpoint? So like coach Eric said, third form, fourth form, you know, I wanted to go to college and my parents always pushed me for college, and I think that middle step that I took at South Kent, that really helped me get into a top college for soccer in the US, and it's really just about like knowing what you want from early on and taking the necessary steps, because you know, when I was in high school with footage, it was hard to get videos and stuff, and so it was just about knowing what you want. Not anymore, thanks to Sportsmax by the way. Yeah, thank you guys. Not only that, you see more and more video cameras going up, and I do want to point out it's crucial, not just that we film the matches, but that each player has himself or somebody to say, let us make a highlight video, let us approach these coaches, get out the footage, because it's much easy for a coach to show interest via video than to book a ticket and come over and watch it. Yeah, either of you can answer this question, and I guess it's a similar question, but in a different way. How much of your success at this point, Matthew, you would say was by design as opposed to just a stroke of luck? I think it's God, really. God has blessed me with so many opportunities that a lot of people would be so grateful for, and I praise God every day. Every time I speak about this or why I'm here, it's God just blessed me, and I'm appreciative for it. Yeah, it is, I mean, as a coach or facilitator of this process, you often see a little bit more the luck element than maybe some of the players, because you like to believe you put in the hard work, you get the opportunity, but a lot of times you come down to small little things as can you get your visa as simple as that, and sometimes you unlock you don't get your visa. I remember when we just went to America, the first reaction from us, everyone, is he's too short. Can be no forward that when you're so short. As I say, America, the game is a little different, a lot of physical strikers and defenders, they supposed to be big, and you really now have a little bit of luck that where we were with Vallejo, you have persons who had that other experience outside America, and I say, no, we can't work with this guy because we see he's good. So it's not just about being good, you have to have that luck element with it, but I do think that luck comes to those that actually keep putting in the work, keep believing in themselves, believing in the process, and a lot of times for those guys things fall into place. And designing a way forward. But having an open mind, because I think at the stage where we went to America, I don't think that you were excited to go over another school for three years. So you know, I think at that time, even part of the mindset was, at this point, I think about 17, 18 at the time, can I go pro from here? And then an opportunity comes to you that's maybe different than you thought. But as you say, at some point, you have your your end goal and the path, you're not really sure. But once you keep focusing on that end goal, good things will happen for you. Yeah, sounds amazing. Matthew Bell, congratulations. You have done brilliantly to get to where you are. And we wish you all the very best at Real Salt Lake. We'll be watching the matches, all of them. And no, we have more of a reason to watch the MLS lands. Because I want to say quickly before we end the segment, though, but from the 90s, when there are a lot of Caribbean players involved in the MLS, I was always keenly interested in monitoring the MLS because they have Caribbean players like Ezra Hendricks from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Jovin Jones from TNT and now Kevin Molino have all been MLS champions from the from the Caribbean. And there was a proliferation of Jamaicans as well, Andy Williams, Tyrone Marshall, Omar Cummings and so on. Cummings won an MLS title as well. So there is a history of Caribbean players not only being prominent in the MLS, but being champions with the MLS. And we hope that Matthew will join that group. Yeah, well said, probably. All right, so it's amazing. Let's go to a break on the sportsman zone. We're just chatting with Eric Rademakas and Matthew Bell. He's heading to Reelsalt Lake in the MLS. We'll take a break. We'll back with more.