Waite: Tivoli can win JPL title
‘It can be done but we have to take it a game at a time’
Published:Friday | April 19, 2024 | 12:08 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
After finishing 12th in the Jamaica Premier League (JPL) last season, with just five wins and 22 points, no one expected Tivoli Gardens to have the turnaround they are having this campaign.
However, under former Arnett Gardens coach Jerome Waite this term, the west Kingston-based club had a complete U-turn, ending the preliminary round on 51 points after 15 wins and six draws.
Waite pointed out that though the team is still a work in progress, their improvement from last season speaks volumes, and he does not see a reason why his team cannot go on and win the title.
“When I came I got a warm welcome, and the players were happy to see a man with so much experience join the Tivoli family.
“One of the things they have mentioned, even the spectators, is that they have never seen a team train this hard before in Tivoli, but that’s why they have not done well in past seasons,” he reasoned.
“The team is a work in progress. When a new system is put in place for players, the team fluctuates (in performances) at times but you can give them a 80 per cent (for the season),” said.
“We can win it (title). It can be done but we have to take it a game at a time. We will have to spend a lot of time dealing with the mental preparation because that is also a key factor.”
Waite’s impact at Tivoli has earned him many admirers. Although he appreciates the fact that the public has started to give him the respect he deserves, he believes that how the team performs and executes in the next few weeks is what really counts.
“A lot of people have a lot to say. First, they said I couldn’t coach nowhere else but up the road (Arnett).
“But what they have seen is more than overwhelming and some are starting to say that this is the man. But I won’t jump for joy now. It’s the performances that will speak volumes,” he declared.
He pointed out also that there will be no love lost when he takes on his former club, which he led to four JPL titles.
“I am a professional coach, and if it means that I will be elsewhere next season, it doesn’t matter who I coach, I will show what I am made of and how professional I am,” Waite said.
Nevertheless, he remains wary of his quarterfinal opponents Waterhouse, the sixth-place finishers.
In 2017, Waite finished in sixth with Arnett and went on to win the league, the first team to do so.
The feat was matched by Harbour View in 2022, under coach Ludlow Bernard, and Waite believes this Waterhouse team could offer a similar threat to the playoffs this season.
“I was the first to finish sixth and showed Jamaica you can still win it. Harbour View did it recently.
“Waterhouse cannot be taken lightly. They have fought their way to finish sixth and qualify. So when that day comes it won’t matter what happened in the past. We will have to focus on the game at hand.
“So even though they started slow, they have done well to reach the top six. And it’s a different ball game now. So we have to be ready when the day comes,” he said.