Glenmuir High's Paul Wilson (left) and Omar Holness of Wolmer's Boys' on their arrival at the Norman Manley Interna-tional Airport on Monday. - photo by Robert Bailey

The 10-day camp at Sunderland AFC, England, for eight of the Caribbean's talented young footballers has ended and they have returned home, having had a wonderful experience.

The eight youngsters who represented six different Caribbean countries were selected from the Digicel Kick Start Clinics by Jamaica's former national coach and England and Liverpool legend, John Barnes.

Fifteen-year-old Omar Holness, who was one of two Jamaicans chosen, with the other being Paul Wilson, loved every aspect of the camp.

"Everything was ok, it went along smoothly and I loved it. The only thing that could have been improved was more time but seeing we have school, we could not have stayed longer," Holness said.

"I was really, really happy when I got selected to go to Sunderland AFC. I never expected that it would have been me but at the same time I am really grateful as I saw it as a wonderful opportunity."

Holness was not to be disappointed as he found the facilities to be much better than he is used to.

"It was world class, the facilities were outstanding and training was intense. I have learnt that football is a professional game and I am therefore able to assess myself and I know that I have to work hard to achieve it," he said. "I would like to play in the (English) Premier League for Liverpool."

With his choice of clubs, it is no surprise that his favourite player is Liverpool's captain Steven Gerrard.

His immediate focus, however, is on winning this season's Manning Cup competition with his Wolmer's team.

Holness is a versatile player, who can play on the forward line or slot into the midfield. He returned to the island on Monday and describes his relationship with the other seven boys as very close.

Competitive matches

"We were very close, we were like brothers. For such a short period we really got along well. The club (Sunderland AFC) also welcomed us into the system, they treated us like we were part of it," said Holness.

He had the pleasure of watching Sunderland AFC play two competitive football matches; first was a Carling Cup game against Birmingham City and Sunday's Premier League matchagainst Wolverhampton. He, however, gives his most memorable moment as the opportunity to have dinner with Trinidad and Tobago international and Sunderland player, Kenwyne Jones.

"We got to ask him a lot of questions. He told us that football is not an easy thing, it comes with hard work and that we should focus on physical training as it will pay off in the long run," shared Holness.