NTFA recruiting during lockdown

Jamaica National Tackle Football Association (NTFA) Director Jerome Harriott says that during the break from games, the federation has taken the opportunity to expand recruitment and training for coaches and officials for the upcoming season.

Harriott said that because tackle football has been newly introduced to Jamaica, it is important to recruit more professionals who can help with spreading knowledge to those interested in playing the sport.

“Coaches’ and officials’ recruitment and training is our priority at the moment,” Harriott said. “We have interviewed a number of potential coaches that have the experience and background in coaching American football – gridiron.

“We have opened up our training platform for persons committed to coaching our student athletes at jntfa.org.”

“We have also opened applications for persons that aspire to officiate matches. This is a great opportunity for people that want to be involved with the sport but have limited time.”

Harriott said that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of athletes will lose a full year of competition and opportunities for college acceptance.

ACADEMIC PLANS

However, the NTFA plans to give student athletes one more year of competition while providing academic courses that will keep them on track with their tertiary education aims.

“It has helped to facilitate the placement of a number of athletes to top universities and colleges throughout the United States,” Harriott said. “Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected that athletes accepted this year will report to their respective universities as soon as January 2021 or as late as July 2021.

“With the guidance and support from the NTFA gridiron programme, all athletes will continue to receive fundamental training in order to be successful in the classroom and on the field of play upon entering their respective institutions.”

The 2021 class of athletes has also received training and will be assessed during the mini camps to be held next year through the Annual Management Group Recruiting Platform. Their results will be sent to the respective universities.

Harriott says NTFA programmes will continue to follow the safety protocols provided by the Ministry of Health and Wellness, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the World Health Organization.

The NTFA is working on a gridiron schedule that intends to start training in January and playing matches in February.

Athena Clarke