The youngest member of the team, Josh is expected to bolster a defense that allowed just one goal in three games during the group stages of the U20 tournament, played in Trinidad and Tobago. Having stayed in touch with some of his current teammates for some time now, the transition has been relatively seamless for him.
The move has been aided by the fact that Josh - born in Gros Islet and moving to England at the age of nine - is the grandson of former Saint Lucia international, Carlos ‘Alan Ball’ Southwell. Southwell played for the Shamrock club in the 1970's and was a member of the Saint Lucia national team when they won the Popham (Windward Islands) Trophy.
The U20 coaching staff shares fond memories of 'Ball.' Head coach Cassim 'Vaso' Louis recalls playing with Southwell in their heyday, noting that he was silky smooth on and off the pitch. Assistant coach Alvin Xavier says Josh's grandfather was one of his first coaches and mentors, growing up in Marchand.
As the national team embarks on the second step in their campaign to qualify for the 2017 FIFA U20 World Cup, Josh is the youngest member of a team that includes defensive midfielder Ryi Maryat, skilful attacker Noah 'Lucky' Nicholas, and experienced goalkeeper Noah Didier.
With members of the team being scouted by W Connection FC in Trinidad and Tobago, others looking to take their talents to colleges in the United States, Ryi already at the University of the West Indies, and two others training in England, this unit is beginning to get a taste of what big-time football is about.
Here is what Josh had to say about his teammates and his own professional outlook before setting out for Curacao.
Q: You trained with the Under-17's in 2015, but never got a chance to actually pull on a Saint Lucia jersey. How excited are you to be finally linking up with the national team?
A: I am very excited. It's a chance to show what I've got to the country, so I'm excited to play for the team, and see what's good. The chemistry seems to be good with the team. I like everyone. It's all fun. It's all good. I didn't know all of them, because I trained with the younger team the last time. But I trained with them [the U20's, when I got home this time] and we had some good sessions. I've been keeping in touch with quite a few of them quite a lot, like Melvin, because he came up to England as well. So I've been keeping in touch with them through social media so it's been good.
Q: Defender Melvin Doxilly and Nyrone Winter (who is not with the team in Curacao) recently traveled to England and trained with you at Tranmere. What was that experience like?
A: It was good to see fellow Lucians playing with me in England, because obviously I hadn't had that before, and it was good to have them, because they came and stayed with me while they were over there .So it was a good experience. I thought maybe they wouldn't be able to cope with the quickfire standard in England, but they seemed to do really well! And Nyrone really stood out with his skills and stuff, so it was good.
Q: You have been with Tranmere for a little while now, in their youth setup, but you made a big transition this year. How have you been faring so far?
A: I'm a scholar now so I've enjoyed it. This season I'm a first year scholar and I've been starting, and usually it's the second year scholars that start, so it's been good. At the start of the season we didnt really win many matches. We were creating chances and keeping clean sheets, but we couldn't score. But now the team's starting to gel, we're creating many chances, we're scoring, we're starting to win now. I'm in good form at the moment so hopefully I keep that form going for when I get back to England.
Q: Where do you want this footballing journey to take you?
A: Hopefully I will be able to get to the Premiere League one day, and have a good career in England. I'd like to stay in England, but wherever my journey takes me... I'll go anywhere, because I love football.
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