McGrath will remember 2024
Coach wants help for overachieving football programme
Published:Friday | December 13, 2024 | 4:48 AMOrane Buchanan/Staff Reporter
“IT’LL BE with us for a while.”
Those were the words uttered by Jermaine Thomas, head coach of McGrath High School following a heartbreaking defeat in the recently concluded ISSA daCosta Cup final.
After conceding in stoppage time, McGrath went on to lose 5-3 on penalties to Garvey Maceo inside the National Stadium on Saturday.
Thomas explained that despite the result, he’s pleased with what the team accomplished over the course of the season.
“They did extremely well. We knew what we had coming into the game and the season, but the boys played some good football against teams who spent millions. Compared to our meagre resources, we did well. You really want to give the players a lot of thumbs up,” he said.
Thomas explained that in the last five years, the school has accomplished some good feats such as lifting last season’s Ben Francis title and reaching the final of the daCosta Cup competition, this year. He believes in order to have continued success, the attention should be placed on the under-14 and under-16 ge-goup competitions.
“Also, in 2019 we finished third in the daCosta Cup losing in the semifinal to the eventual champions, Clarendon College. We need help. It takes a lot to get a school which has never had a football history to achieving a third-place finish, Ben Francis title, and a second-place finish. It’s for us now to look, evaluate and develop from the under-14 stage,” he said.
The experienced coach hinted that the team could boost a youthful squad next season.
“We should have around 12 players returning, but mostly the junior ones,” he said.
While the season has now come to an end for the Linstead-based McGrath, Thomas revealed that the biggest takeaway from the year was helping to shift the football culture at the school. He is also pleased with the fact that the school’s football programme has put smiles on the faces of community residences.
“Everyone is elated, they’re happy. From day one, I wanted to change the culture of the school, and that at times can be the hardest thing. Our current under-14 players sat and watched their school play the semifinal and final at the National Stadium and that will resonate with them for the rest of their school lives. The community was part of the cheering crowd and I’m happy that they’re happy,” Thomas explained.