On the hunt
As one of Jamaica’s most prominent schools, St Jago High is longing to be a more frequent presence at the business end of the Inter-secondary Schools Sports Association (ISSA) Manning Cup competition.
And understandably so.
They are renowned for graduating some of Jamaica’s senior military officers, world-class cricketers, scholars, performing artists and Olympic athletes.
But they have been found wanting in the football arena.
In fact, their only major success in under-19 schoolboy football came back in 2003 when they captured the Walker Cup Knockout title.
Since then, St Jago have found the going tough, but last year they signalled a return when they made the quarter-finals of the Manning Cup.
This, along with semi-final appearances in the Walker Cup and Flow Super Cup competitions, represents their best achievement in many years. The Monk Street-based team is now determined to go one better and take home at least one silverware this year.
In a bid to achieve that goal, St Jago acquired the coaching services of Davion Ferguson, who takes over the duties of Glen Laing.
He may be young at heart, but Ferguson is certainly not young in experience, having plied his trade at Hydel High and G C Foster College. Those have been complemented by stints as assistant coach of the National Under-15 and Under-20 female teams.
Though reluctant to make any bold predictions for the season, Ferguson is confident of a good showing.
“I am a coach that doesn’t really get into the habit of singling out players for praise or negative criticism. We are trying to create a team and so the cohesiveness and team spirit will be significant to how we stand out as a team,” he told the Jamaica Observer.
“Once we do that, then we will eventually do well. So we are trying not to be dependent on any one player; we are relying on the team strength to see how well competitive we can be this season,” said Ferguson, who is now two months into his tenure.
“But it is important to note that my presence here at St Jago is actually to build a programme that is sustainable.
“We want to be competitive and we will be competitive and we want to win, but I think it is important that we focus more on the development of these players or the development of a structure, one which will see us being competitive for the years to come,” he added.
With that said, Ferguson, 29, and his team — which has retained some 13 players from last year’s squad along with a few promoted players from the Under-16 Colt’s programme — will take a lot of beating in Group F this year.
They will be carrying the proverbial target on their backs in the group, with Holy Trinity High, who will be their main competition, having first swipe at them on Monday.
Ascot High, Clan Carthy High, Edith Dalton James High and Jose Marti Technical are the other teams in the group.
“We have a fairly good squad heading into the tournament, but in a competition such as the Manning Cup, a lot of things are possible. So we just want to look at the first game against Holy Trinity and that is the only game that we have earmarked to focus on now.
“We should be fully prepared when we get there, and once we get a positive result in that game then we will just take it one step at a time from there. But it is always good to start on a positive note and that is what we are aiming for,” the level one and two certified coach noted.
And despite a slight set-back to the start of their preparation phase, Ferguson is optimistic about maximising the true potential of each individual player.
This in keeping with their Latin motto ‘Labor Omnia Vincit’, which translates to ‘Work Conquers All, Labour Conquers All’.
“For me, coaching is very intimate, you have to have that relationship with your players and that feel-good factor. We are trying to put a structure in place that will be sustainable over a longer period of time and that includes intense, tactical preparation,” he explained.
“We are trying to get them as astute as possible, and we already are seeing some improvements. So basically what we are trying to do is improve the players individually, and once [we] achieve that then I think the quality of the team will also improve,” Ferguson ended.