Time equals titles – Harrison - New JC coach calls for patience in Champs push

Weeks away from his first ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls Athletics Championships campaign at the helm of the Jamaica College (JC) team, Neil Harrison is warning that it will take time to return the ‘Dark Blues’ to the Champs throne.

Harrison is in his second head-coaching position at a Boys’ Champs title-contending school after spending four years at Kingston College, where he failed to add to the school’s 32 titles.

The coach noted that there are some areas that will need addressing if JC are to make a strong challenge for the title, and underlined that it will require at least three years to get things to where he would want it.

“When you are in a new environment, you would want at least three working years to get things going. I said there are some areas that we need to fix in order to be able to contend, and I am working on those areas already,” Harrison explained.

JC last won Champs in 2011 and are desperate to get their hands back on the Mortimer Geddes Trophy. But Harrison firmly believes that he can make that dream a reality if he is allowed the necessary time to set a strong foundation and build upwards.

“Winning is always something that is in the forefront of everybody’s mind. But I am new at Jamaica College, and I am still about learning the culture and still learning the athletes. I came here with a new philosophy, and that normally takes some time for people to adapt to, so it will be a tall order (to win Champs this year). But Neil Harrison never says die, so we are not writing off winning the title this year,” Harrison said.

“We will see what happens on the day,” he added.

“My philosophy is to always develop a very rounded athlete and when you are vying for championships, then you want to be as rounded as possible. For example, from the sprint perspective, you would want the athletes to be able to go from 100m to the 400m, because it gives you much more depth for the team.”