Former national striker credits Shipwreck league for his development

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Former Empire and national striker, Conrad “Boast” Whyte (right), has credited the Shipwreck league for his development.
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By Neto Baptiste

Former Empire and national striker Conrad “Boast” Whyte said participating in the popular Shipwreck Youth Football League provided the foundation he needed to develop and mature as a player.

Whyte, who spearheaded the attack for a successful Empire squad in the late 90s and early 2000s, said the Saturday league was a cesspool of knowledge for young and ambitious players like himself.

“I don’t think you could do that justice with just words in terms of what that meant for all of us and to me especially. In the Shipwreck league is where we learnt a lot of things in terms of competition, tactics and techniques,” he said.

The league, which was run by popular community figure, Stanfield “Shipwreck” Joseph, brought together teams from the four corners of Antigua as they competed at the King George V Grounds starting Saturday mornings and running into the mid-afternoons.

Whyte said the league provided the push he needed to move to the next level.

“I think that the biggest thing that came out of Shipwreck league for all of us is that it gave us that competitive edge as a youngster. Every Saturday you were competing and there were so many rivalries that went on in that league and words can’t put what that league meant to all of us. I don’t have enough words; my vocabulary is not that extensive,” he said.

The league was responsible for the development of a number of players coming out of the Gray’s Green community and other communities across the island.

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