‘A win for all who believed in us’
Published:Monday | April 3, 2023 | 12:30 AMDaniel Wheeler/Staff Reporter
Hydel High’s head coach Corey Bennett has described his team’s history-making success at the 2023 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships as the crowning achievement in a decade-long journey to the top.
Hydel ended the eight-year championship reign of Edwin Allen High in the tightest of finishes, bagging 279 points to 277 to become the first new title holders since 2012.
Over the years, Hydel have built a programme which has produced athletes that have transitioned to the senior level, with the likes of Shiann Salmon, Charokee Young and Lamara Distin.
Bennett dedicated the title to those who believed in the vision from the start.
“The girls worked hard. And this is for all the present girls, all the past girls, and all the future girls to come. This is for Ferry, St Catherine. This is for all the parents who believed in us. And this is for everybody; for my family, for my sons, my wife, everybody who believed,” Bennett told The Gleaner.
“We did this one for our president, Hyacinth Bennett. She wasn’t able to be at the championships physically, but this was her dream.”
Throughout the years, Hydel have been consistent in putting in top finishes, but in the title race they fell short of the goal. But for assistant coach Richard Johnson, trusting in the process was the main reason Hydel can stand on top of the mountain.
“We have a winning formula, and it was just a matter of time. When it is your time, it’s your time. Sometimes you have to wait and you have to have patience, and you have to continue doing the right things,” Johnson said. “Don’t get frustrated when things are not working. People have been saying we will never win Champs, we will always be second or third. But we knew that it would come. It was just a matter of time. And we give God thanks.”
Bennett has had to manage his time between Hydel and being the head coach of Calabar High, who finished third in the Boys’ Championship.
While he had hoped that he would have a little reprieve, he promised to be present today when the title travels to Ferry, St Catherine, for a celebration 13 years in the making.
“I was planning to take the day off. I don’t think I can,” Bennett said. “(But) I will be there.”