Hillel Manning Cup season to feature young team

As Hillel Academy prepares for their second-ever season in the ISSA Manning Cup, head coach Sean Fraser said the school would field a young squad as a number of last year’s players will not return for the upcoming season.
Hillel made their debut in the Manning Cup last year, and despite not making it past the first round, enjoyed a modicum of success.
They opened their campaign with a win over Meadowbrook High and picked up two more wins in the first round.
The highlight of their season was the 9-1 triumph over Pembroke Hall High, their biggest margin of victory.
But while Fraser is determined to build on their foundation from last season, he admitted that there would be a lot of new faces in his squad.
“Well, last year was history because it was our debut,” Fraser said. “We think we did well enough, and we could have done better, but the players were young and inexperienced. However, this season is probably going to feel like a younger team.”
Fraser explained, as is often the case at Hillel, student-athletes leave the school after grades 10 and 11, unlike other schools, which retain their players until the 12th.
He also said a number of his athletes have chosen to migrate to complete their schooling overseas, further depleting their squad.
“At Hillel Academy, when the players who are the student-athletes get to fourth form and fifth form, they leave the school,” Fraser explained.
“So it’s not like a traditional school where they go to sixth form and finish their Manning Cup tenure. For me, I’m losing about three players, who are leaving the school completely.”
He continued: “And then we have 12 to 13 players who are migrating to go to junior colleges and high schools overseas, so it’s going to be a brand-new Hillel Academy team you’ll see this year. For me, it’s just to accept the challenge and try to mould the boys in the best way possible.”
Hillel are drawn in Group B of the first round as an unseeded team alongside Dunoon Park Technical, Innswood High, Papine High, Clan Carthy High, St Mary’s College, José Martí Technical, and Penwood High.
The top three teams from the group will advance to the second round, where they will join the 16 seeded teams.
Hillel have also been drawn in the Walker Cup, where they will face Wolmer’s Boys in their opening game.
Fraser said ISSA’s decision to open the Walker Cup to all the teams was a positive change as it brings prestige back to the knockout competition.
He said this opens the door for any team to win a title and means that each team enters with the same chance to win.
“I love what they did to the Walker Cup because now people can stop calling it a ‘Loser’s Cup’,” Fraser said. 
“I think it brings back the same amount of prestige that the FA Cup has in England. If you want to be the best, you have to beat the best.”
gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com