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Jumpy’ tackles football
Article Published: Sunday, December 13th, 2009 By CHRISTOPHER SERJU
Former national striker Trevor ‘Jumpy’ Harris is taking issue with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) over what he considers its misguided approach to the long term development and sustainability of football in Jamaica. He contends that the people entrusted with administering the national football programme are lacking in vision with no clear sense of direction about how to advance the sport.
REASONING FOOTBALL: Former national striker Allan ‘Skill’ Cole (left) in deep discussion with Trevor ‘Jumpy’ Harris following Tuesday’s launch of Jamaica Grassroots Football Company of which Harris’ son, Wolde who represented the Reggae Boyz, is the CEO and president. Listening on the discussion is Arnett Gardens’ player/coach Fabian Davis (partially hidden). (Photo: Chris Serju)
On the other hand, the people who have a genuine love for the game and an interest in seeing it grow have been sidelined, he charged.
“We are really concerned that development of the game is not really at the forefront of their mind. It’s a business for them. They can make money, they are in the limelight and that’s all good for them but what about the game?
“A whole lot a billions (of dollars) waste since we build the roof which we can’t maintain. They say that when we went to France we built a roof and without any foundation we have been struggling to keep that roof up.
“So we (have) been spending billions to keep that roof up, rather than to spend that money on youth football where the return on investment is assured,” he said in reference to Jamaica qualifying for the 1998 World Cup.
Harris was speaking with the Sunday Herald following Tuesday’s launch of the Jamaica Grassroots Football Company at Cuddy’z Sports Bar in New Kingston. In his address at the function, the veteran football coach blasted the absence of any JFF representative as a sign of disrespect.
“That is disrespect,” he declared from the podium, taking into account the fact the JFF’s headquarters is located in New Kingston. The function was slated to run from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. but by the time JJF general secretary, Horace Reid turned up at about 1:20 p.m. the official programme had long ended. Speculation was rife that someone at the function had called the JFF and told them about Harris’ remarks.
The Jamaica Grassroots Football Company, which will cater to the development of young footballers, is headed by former Jamaican international Wolde Harris and his brothers Samuel and Changa, all sons of Jumpy.
He believes that if Jamaica is to realise its potential in world football, greater attention must be paid to ensuring that players are exposed to the correct attitude and skills at a very early age.
”The problem is I don’t think we have the best coaches at the youth level and if you are going to set the correct foundation for the football, you need the best coaches, best referees, best surfaces that you can have to really expose the youths. It all facilitates the planting of the right seed and watching that seed develop roots and growing to give you the fruits.
“Now it’s really difficult to do that if people are say past the age of 14. So I think we are having problems at the youth level where the best coaches are not reaching the youths and laying the proper foundation,” Trevor stated.
So where are these coaches to be found?
“Some have been totally rejected and frustrated out of any kind of leadership role. I think that there is a fear in the current administration that people might show them (up),” Harris continued, charging that if you were not a ‘yes’ man there was no place for you in the current JJF administration.
He also challenged the widescale use of overseas players, as happened under Brazilian coach Rene Simoes.
“I do have an issue with that because in the first instance, I believe even then that Simoes and all foreign coaches should be brought to Jamaica to coach our coaches, not teams, not the national team, they don’t know our culture.
“You have to take time out to know our culture, know how to motivate our people. All we need is about six months where we can pluck out all information that they have on football and don’t have to pay them so much money.
“Spend that money to develop the sport and I think that if we had an archive filled with these foreign coaches’ ideas and philosophy then we could develop a Jamaican philosophy from that.
“I think there are enough qualified people around in football who could use that information to develop that philosophy, develop a manual and coach our games – instead of following others whom I think, they are here to really eat a food, (and) enjoy themselves,” Trevor said.
Harris who had an illustrious career as a schoolboy striker and national representative, took up the post of technical director at his alma mater Kingston College (KC) on December 1
”I am going there to see if I can effect any change,” he told the Sunday Herald.
Though he represented KC in both Manning Cup football and Sunlight Cup cricket, excelling at both games, it is for his exploits on the football field that Harris is remembered. He was a member of the legendary KC Manning Cup team that won back-to-back ISSA schoolboy triple-championship titles – Manning Cup, Walker Cup and Olivier Shield– in 1964 and 1965. In 1965, KC had the unique distinction of having 10 of their Manning Cup players on both the All Manning and the All Schools teams.
Harris created quite a stir in 1965 when he scored 20 goals for the Manning Cup season to erase the 19-goal record of Osmond Kerr of Kingston Technical High School. He was also a member of the 1964 and 1965 All Manning and All Schools teams, and also won the Sunlight Cricket Cup at Kingston College in 1962 and 1964.
In 1966 Harris made his international debut for the Jamaica senior football team under coach Jorge Penna against a Brazilian team and scored the only goal of the game, as Jamaica edged the South American team 1-0 at the stadium. He was also a member of the Jamaica football team at the 1966 Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. As a member of the Michigan State NCAA Division I football team he was voted ‘All American’ in 1967 and 1968.
Article Published: Sunday, December 13th, 2009 By CHRISTOPHER SERJU
Former national striker Trevor ‘Jumpy’ Harris is taking issue with the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) over what he considers its misguided approach to the long term development and sustainability of football in Jamaica. He contends that the people entrusted with administering the national football programme are lacking in vision with no clear sense of direction about how to advance the sport.
REASONING FOOTBALL: Former national striker Allan ‘Skill’ Cole (left) in deep discussion with Trevor ‘Jumpy’ Harris following Tuesday’s launch of Jamaica Grassroots Football Company of which Harris’ son, Wolde who represented the Reggae Boyz, is the CEO and president. Listening on the discussion is Arnett Gardens’ player/coach Fabian Davis (partially hidden). (Photo: Chris Serju)
On the other hand, the people who have a genuine love for the game and an interest in seeing it grow have been sidelined, he charged.
“We are really concerned that development of the game is not really at the forefront of their mind. It’s a business for them. They can make money, they are in the limelight and that’s all good for them but what about the game?
“A whole lot a billions (of dollars) waste since we build the roof which we can’t maintain. They say that when we went to France we built a roof and without any foundation we have been struggling to keep that roof up.
“So we (have) been spending billions to keep that roof up, rather than to spend that money on youth football where the return on investment is assured,” he said in reference to Jamaica qualifying for the 1998 World Cup.
Harris was speaking with the Sunday Herald following Tuesday’s launch of the Jamaica Grassroots Football Company at Cuddy’z Sports Bar in New Kingston. In his address at the function, the veteran football coach blasted the absence of any JFF representative as a sign of disrespect.
“That is disrespect,” he declared from the podium, taking into account the fact the JFF’s headquarters is located in New Kingston. The function was slated to run from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. but by the time JJF general secretary, Horace Reid turned up at about 1:20 p.m. the official programme had long ended. Speculation was rife that someone at the function had called the JFF and told them about Harris’ remarks.
The Jamaica Grassroots Football Company, which will cater to the development of young footballers, is headed by former Jamaican international Wolde Harris and his brothers Samuel and Changa, all sons of Jumpy.
He believes that if Jamaica is to realise its potential in world football, greater attention must be paid to ensuring that players are exposed to the correct attitude and skills at a very early age.
”The problem is I don’t think we have the best coaches at the youth level and if you are going to set the correct foundation for the football, you need the best coaches, best referees, best surfaces that you can have to really expose the youths. It all facilitates the planting of the right seed and watching that seed develop roots and growing to give you the fruits.
“Now it’s really difficult to do that if people are say past the age of 14. So I think we are having problems at the youth level where the best coaches are not reaching the youths and laying the proper foundation,” Trevor stated.
So where are these coaches to be found?
“Some have been totally rejected and frustrated out of any kind of leadership role. I think that there is a fear in the current administration that people might show them (up),” Harris continued, charging that if you were not a ‘yes’ man there was no place for you in the current JJF administration.
He also challenged the widescale use of overseas players, as happened under Brazilian coach Rene Simoes.
“I do have an issue with that because in the first instance, I believe even then that Simoes and all foreign coaches should be brought to Jamaica to coach our coaches, not teams, not the national team, they don’t know our culture.
“You have to take time out to know our culture, know how to motivate our people. All we need is about six months where we can pluck out all information that they have on football and don’t have to pay them so much money.
“Spend that money to develop the sport and I think that if we had an archive filled with these foreign coaches’ ideas and philosophy then we could develop a Jamaican philosophy from that.
“I think there are enough qualified people around in football who could use that information to develop that philosophy, develop a manual and coach our games – instead of following others whom I think, they are here to really eat a food, (and) enjoy themselves,” Trevor said.
Harris who had an illustrious career as a schoolboy striker and national representative, took up the post of technical director at his alma mater Kingston College (KC) on December 1
”I am going there to see if I can effect any change,” he told the Sunday Herald.
Though he represented KC in both Manning Cup football and Sunlight Cup cricket, excelling at both games, it is for his exploits on the football field that Harris is remembered. He was a member of the legendary KC Manning Cup team that won back-to-back ISSA schoolboy triple-championship titles – Manning Cup, Walker Cup and Olivier Shield– in 1964 and 1965. In 1965, KC had the unique distinction of having 10 of their Manning Cup players on both the All Manning and the All Schools teams.
Harris created quite a stir in 1965 when he scored 20 goals for the Manning Cup season to erase the 19-goal record of Osmond Kerr of Kingston Technical High School. He was also a member of the 1964 and 1965 All Manning and All Schools teams, and also won the Sunlight Cricket Cup at Kingston College in 1962 and 1964.
In 1966 Harris made his international debut for the Jamaica senior football team under coach Jorge Penna against a Brazilian team and scored the only goal of the game, as Jamaica edged the South American team 1-0 at the stadium. He was also a member of the Jamaica football team at the 1966 Pan American Games in Puerto Rico. As a member of the Michigan State NCAA Division I football team he was voted ‘All American’ in 1967 and 1968.