Coach Coley outwits rival as Jamaica College lift 28th title

The strength seemed to help as she set a Jamaican junior 400 metres hurdles record of 54.58 seconds at the National Senior Championships. The old mark of 55.11 seconds had been set by Kaliese Spencer in an effort that secured the gold medal at the 2006 World Junior Championships. During her time at the Racers Track Club, Tracey improved to 54.52. She moved to G.C. Foster to join the Maurice Wilson-coached Sprintec outfit in time to prepare for the 2016 season, and the collaboration spurred her to fifth in the Olympic final with a time of 54.15 seconds.

Now she is the seventhfastest Jamaican of all-time in the 400 metre hurdles.

Understandably, the athlete, known in track circles as ‘Rista’, is optimistic about the upcoming season.

“I’m just gonna go back, look at where I can improve and work hard towards it and see where it takes me,” she resolved. Jamaica College’s coach Miguel Coley on the shoulders of fans after the school won a fourth straight ISSA-FLOW Manning Cup title at the National Stadium on Saturday night. JC defeated Wolmer’s Boys’ 2-1 in the final. WITH A fourth consecutive ISSA-FLOW Manning Cup title in the bag, Jamaica College (JC) coach Miguel Coley has revealed that his victory was no surprise as he had devised a plan to outwit his rival coach.

Coley’s JC upstaged the Vassell Reynoldscoached Wolmer’s Boys’ 2-1 in the final played at the National Stadium last Saturday night to hand the school its 28th title.

According to Coley, JC knew how to win and Wolmer’s did not.

“This win means every single thing, but this is for football too.

“I have been hearing that Wolmer’s are the best defensive team, but when you watch the tapes and analyse the games properly, there is no way your goalkeeper is saving five to seven shots per game and you are a very good defensive team,” Coley said in Saturday’s post-game interview.

The former national assistant coach said he backed his coaching abilities ahead of Saturday’s final and his team produced a first-half showing which stunned Wolmer’s.

JC’s consistent match-winners, Tyreke Magee and Donovan Dawkins, were the men on target early for the Hope Roadbased school.

“We know that when we are squaring the ball, we can’t put the ball on the six-yard box. We needed to pull it back, and we did that today,” Coley said while adding that he carefully watched tapes of Wolmer’s prior to the game and identified their defensive weaknesses.

“Wolmer’s are a team that defends the six-yard box, therefore, we practised that a lot and the boys could close their eyes and put the ball in the correct areas,” he added.

Wolmer’s pulled back a goal with the last kick before half-time and Coley said he told his players to remain calm and “not panic”.

“When it comes to the Manning Cup, JC will fight for it. We are hungry for it because we have tasted it before,” stressed Coley.