On the surface it might not seem a big deal, but for Jason “Buju” Henry the opportunity to share his expertise with Caribbean neighbours speaks volumes of his rapid growth as a physical trainer.

Henry, who has flexed his muscles with national, Premier League, and schoolboy football teams, recently grabbed the attention of the Turks and Caicos Islands Football Association (TCIFA) and was invited to conduct a fitness, strength and conditioning course at their national academy.

The invite, which came from TCIFA’s General Secretary Oliver Smith, was made possible with the input of former Reggae Girlz Head Coach Hue Menzies and fitness trainer Will Hitzelberger.

“I am honoured to have been invited and it is indeed a pleasure to spread the wealth of knowledge. I believe it is a testament of the good work that I have being putting in over the years and also another significant step in my career,” Henry told the Jamaica Observer prior to departure on Friday.

Henry, a graduate and now coach at GC Foster College, was able to fuel the respective teams he worked with as he is always required to be well-positioned to keep the players on the field, in terms of injury prevention and to have them perform at their optimum at all times.

It is for this reason why he believes this stint will assist in improving his craft to better condition his players.

During the three-day course, Henry will address fitness testing, components of physical fitness, movement assessment, principles of training, phases of training, target muscle groups and joints, strength conditioning training, recovery, and nutrition.

“It is very important, and it goes to show that there are people out there that now value us as performance coaches, having seen the significant impact we can make in their programmes. So, again, this is a next-level move for my career, and by getting some overseas acknowledgement and exposure outside of the norm,” Henry said.

“So my aim now is to make the most of this opportunity and share as much I can to help the TCIFA develop their S&C [strength and conditioning] programme and to keep working with them as I continue to learn more as well,” he added.

The 31-year-old was integral in the Reggae Girlz historic qualification to the Fifa Women’s World Cup in France 2019, and is the fitness guru behind Harbour View FC and recently crowned Manning Cup champions Kingston College.

He has also worked with the national Under-17 and Under-20 male and female teams and was also a part of the Reggae Boyz Gold Cup and World Cup qualifying technical staff.

To say that Henry is heartened by his track record and, by extension, his current trajectory in what is still a budding career would be an understatement.

“After the 18-month layoff due to the pandemic, I must give thanks to God. It has been a very productive year of football for me. Winning double tittle at Kingston College, working with national senior Boyz, and now the Girlz is indeed a blessing,” Henry noted.

“For me to be all over the place working with so many teams signifies that I am doing something good in the field. So I will just remain humble and keep putting in the work to continue the progress and remain a student of the game or the field,” he stressed.

Finally, Henry expressed gratitude to all and sundry who played a role in his growth and development, while hinting at a possible project in the pipeline.

“I want to give GC Foster College and everyone that was and is still involved in my development a big thank you and to say that the college is coming with more determined and committed persons like myself to take over the strength and conditioning coaching landscape.

“I also have something massive in process as it relates to education, so that is something to look forward to,” Henry ended.