Sky’s the limit for Charlie Smith’s top scorer Damar Brown
Published:Tuesday | December 28, 2021 | 12:08 AMLivingston Scott/Gleaner Writer
As a young footballer growing up in Trench Town, Damar Brown knows there are certain expectations that come with playing for Charlie Smith High School.
Brown, one of Charlie Smith’s few returning players from the 2019 season, has scored seven of the school’s 13 goals to help them reach the last four of the competition.
Despite having the daunting task of facing favourites and defending champions Jamaica College (JC) in the semi-finals, Brown is looking to continue his goalscoring exploits and is determined to lead his team to the final.
“When you are playing for Charlie Smith, the expectations are high. People in the community always expect Charlie Smith to go to the final, and to challenge for the trophy every year. So there is great motivation for us to win the title,” he said.
“The expectation is always to win the Manning Cup; and my focus is to try and win the Golden Boot and lead my team to victory,” he continued.
GREAT SEASON
Brown’s season has been great so far. In the first round he netted six of Charlie Smith’s seven goals, and one of their six in the quarter-final round. Brown credits his coach, Eugene Williams, for pushing him to reach his full potential through hard work.
“I thank my coach for pushing me. He really motivates me and pushes me to work hard in training.
“I am doing well, but there is still room for improvement. I will not limit myself, I can do more because the sky’s the limit,” he commented.
Charlie Smith met JC in the quarter-final round of the competition and were blanked 3-0. However, they rallied to beat Kingston Technical 4-1 and Excelsior 2-0 to secure a semi-final spot, but Brown believes they learnt a lot in that JC game and are now ready to make amends.
“I was the target every time I got the ball against JC, so it was difficult to play. I told my team-mates they are coming at me and they should try to utilise the space, because every time I got the ball, two and three players were always tackling me.
“But now I know how they play, so I just want to remain focused and continue to train hard. We can do it, and I have confidence in my team. And, from I can keep the right mindset, I am very confident of scoring.
“So I expect every player to stay focused and to train hard, because to go up against JC we need to be disciplined and ready to put in the hard work,” he added.