Kevin Pryce loves to coach

Kevin Pryce looks too young to have coached track athletes for the best part of 30 years. However, there is something keeping the baby-faced hurdles guru young: he simply loves to coach.

Pryce, a recent 30-year long service Jamaica Track and Field Coaches Award winner, encapsulates his romance with the sport in the most delightful way.

“I have not worked a day in my life because I’m being paid to do what I love,” explained the man who coached hurdlers for years at Calabar High, with a productive stint at the Racers Track to follow.

During a break in his duties with the St George’s College team at the recent PA Benjamin Wesley Powell Excelsior track meet, Pryce shed some light on the early start to his coaching career.

“I used to compete at a young age. Got a lot of injuries, so I wanted to learn how to prevent those injuries, and I just wanted to help the youngsters so they don’t go down the same route that I went to,” he recalled.

In those days, he was a promising sprinter at Jonathan Grant High, where he would meet Kenrick Williams, who made the Spanish Town school a powerhouse.

“Mr Williams is like a father figure. In every aspect of the word, a mentor. He guided us. He taught us to believe in ourselves, and you know, we were the pioneers of that era. We went to Champs. We were fearless. We went there, we got some medals, and we made the school proud,” he said of his days racing alongside standouts like Rohan McDonald, Clive Blair, and James Prince.

His coaching journey took him to Calabar, where he produced wave after wave of Champs-winning hurdlers including Ricardo Melbourne and future Olympian Deuce Carter. Later on, during a stint at the Racers Track Club, he directed former 400m runner Annsert Whyte to glory. Whyte set personal bests in the heats, semis, and final and finished fifth place overall.

“That started out with people laughing,” he recounted, “thinking it was a waste of time, but Annsert believed in me, and we set our plan and we worked towards it. We reaped the benefits.”

These days, Pryce is helping to lift St George’s College back to the forefront. With Gavin James directing affairs as head coach, Pryce piloted Jahzi Walters to the bronze medal in the Boys and Girls’ Championships Class Three 100m hurdles.

He wasn’t surprised. “I told that kid from the very first day I saw him that he would have led the charge, and he would have medalled for me,” Pryce revealed.

With James and Pryce leading the revival, the St George’s track team is growing.

“The youngsters are now understanding what it’s about, and they’re excited. They want to move, so it’s just for us to stay focused and work hard, and I believe we’ll get the results,” Pryce said.