Central High intend to shake off ‘smaller school’ tag

CENTRAL HIGH School head coach Jermaine Douglas believes 2024 will mark the year the school will finally shake off the reputation as one of the “smaller schools” in the ISSA daCosta Cup.

Douglas said his players will have to grow beyond the mindset of being underdogs this season if they are to match the rising expectations of them.

“I’m hoping that it is the same confidence that you’ll see in the season,” he said.

“Some of the players are still thinking that we’re one of the smaller schools but the expectation is no longer of a smaller school. People are expecting us to come out and put on a show and get results.”

Central High have become a rising force in Clarendon and Douglas will hope his team can challenge the elites of the rural competition.

Central made it all the way to the final two seasons ago before being defeated by reigning champions Clarendon College.

Douglas will be hoping the remaining members from that team will be able to pass on their experience to their younger teammates.

“I think we have three players remaining from that squad and they will pass on that experience. The younger players here now were there in that squad. They might not have been actively participating but they were around the team, so they would have learned from that team.”

Douglas will be taking some confidence from the fact Central will see a talented batch of players moving up from the under-16 competition where they had finished runners-up to The Manning’s School.

He said despite losing several key players this year, the incoming batch will have the talent to fill the gaps in the team.

However, he cautioned for patience from the school’s fans as these players will need time to settle into the level needed for the daCosta Cup

“The player turnover for this year is very high but the young players who are coming into the team have some level of experience. They went to the rural U16 finals, so they take that into the team,” said Douglas.

“They are still learning and making mistakes because young players will make these mistakes, but we’re hoping that by the beginning of the season, we can get that corrected and they’ll give a good account of themselves.”

Central kick off their campaign in Zone H alongside defending champions Clarendon College, Alston, Denbigh, Edwin Allen, Lennon, and Thompson Town.