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Never bet against KC

Published:Tuesday | April 12, 2022 | 12:07 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Dave Myrie (left) Principal of Kingston College and Steven Whittingham (right) Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the GraceKennedy Financial Group Limited, Bouwahjgie Nkrumie (centre) , team co-captain and other members of the school’s track and field tea
Rudolph Brown
Dave Myrie (left) Principal of Kingston College and Steven Whittingham (right) Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the GraceKennedy Financial Group Limited, Bouwahjgie Nkrumie (centre) , team co-captain and other members of the school’s track and field team at the celebration ceremony at the school yesterday. Kingston College won their 33rd title at the annual ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships last Saturday.

There were no dynasty proclamations at North Street during Kingston College’s (KC) ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys’ Champion­ships title celebrations yesterday. But there was one constant ­message from principal Dave Myrie: Doubt the boys in purple at your peril.

The Mortimer Geddes trophy was displayed in front of the student body as the school relished its 33rd success, winning with a total of 372 points, dethroning Jamaica College, who finished runners-up with 300.83 points. Calabar High were third with 170.

The celebrations, while low key by their standards, were still enjoyed by both faculty and students alike. For Myrie, their latest success was about getting back to basics in how they prepared.

“Some things happened last year. We lost by 15.5 points, we didn’t have some of our star athletes, and we had a couple of injuries. There were some mishaps last year, and we recognised that so we went back to the drawing board and did what we knew we needed to do and what we have always done,” Myrie told The Gleaner.

The students were also given extra motivation, Myrie revealed, by two videos before Champs, one in particular showing a Jamaica College official displaying the title after last year’s win declaring that it would not leave the school again. Myrie said that no other words were required.

“No commentary was necessary. I told them, the only thing I want them to do is to go out there and do what you need to do,” Myrie said.

STEADFAST ATTITUDE

It is the never-say-die attitude that is embodied by their school motto “ Fortis cadere cedere non potest” (The brave may fall but never yield) which Myrie says has kept them focused, not just at Champs, but in holding the Manning Cup and Olivier Shield titles, which they won last January. Myrie says that they may not always taste victory, but they are committed to ensuring that they are always in the title conversation.

“I am not one to believe that KC, as much as I want it to be so, will always be on top and we can never lose. That is not the case – we lost last year. We just need to ensure that we are consistent in doing what we have always done to secure the victory that we want,” Myrie said.

KC head coach Leaford Grant said that celebrations were made more special with the team being able to share the moment with the school body after having to deal with more than a year of COVID-19 restrictions limiting their enjoyment.

“This part of it is tremendous. We want the children to enjoy themselves. It’s all about them. So they are happy, and I am happy,” Grant said.

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com