Coach Devon Anderson was hired by Hydel Group of Schools as their football head coach. At right is board member Trevin Nairne.
Driven by an over-arching ambition to build the best high school football programme in Jamaica, Hydel High School has begun the process by hiring Devon Anderson.
Anderson, who coached Holy Trinity High to the 2014 Flow Cup Finals and the 2014 and 2016 Manning Cup semi-finals, confirmed his position as the new head coach of Hydel High School on Monday.
“I am elated to be part of this Hydel Group. I am optimistic and raring to go as far as the coming season is confirmed,” he told Sportsmax. TV.
“The management team is putting together the players. They call me the builder and once they give me the raw material I will start building the programme.”
Among the players who have developed under Anderson’s guidance are Phillon Lawrence and Nicholas Hamilton, who play for newly crowned Jamaica Premier League champions Harbour View FC, Tevin Rochester, who suits up for the University of Nebraska, Omaha, Waterhouse FC forward Andre Leslie and Portmore United’s Shai Smith.
In further confirming Anderson’s appointment Hydel High board member Trevin Nairne revealed that the school has big plans for the future and it all starts with the man, who coached at Trinity High for more than two decades.
“The management board of the Hydel Group of Schools is determined to continue our development of the island's premier student-athletes via the establishment of one of Jamaica's leading football programmes,” Nairne said.
“It is our intention to build a comprehensive system from the U14 through the U17 culminating at the U19 - Manning Cup level. We intend to build a programme that serves our students by helping them matriculate into tertiary institutions locally and overseas and where possible into the professional ranks.”
Nairne, who was once the General Manager at Jamaica Premier League outfit Portmore United, explained why Anderson is the best man for the job.
“The committee considers Devon Anderson as one of the brightest football minds around and one who has a true passion for developing and moulding youngsters into the better versions of themselves,” he said.
“His work ethic is second to none and the work he did with Holy Trinity often goes unheralded. We believe with the correct structure and support Devon will have the opportunity to develop a strong football culture that wins.”
There haven’t been many wins for Hydel in Jamaican schoolboy football but over the past decade, they have shown glimpses of what is possible under a structured programme.
Hydel lost to the many-time champions St George’s College in 2012. Six years later, they won the 2018 Walker Cup title, the pinnacle of the school’s football achievements.
However, as the saying goes ‘Rome was not built in a day', so Nairne expects the building process guided by a fundamental philosophy that is paramount to any goal is the holistic development of the players.
“We have a philosophy of the Head, Heart and Hands. To provide an integrated education of the head, heart and hands as the means by which to graduate responsible student-athletes with the knowledge, experience, character and passion to improve the communities in which they live, work and serve,” he explained.
“We respect what other institutions have done but we are not aiming to replicate what others have done. We have a unique philosophy which will take some time to harness but you will see glimpses of it taking shape from day one.
“We don't know how some institutions judge success but we aim to develop a system that wins while creating strong student-athletes who go to college or go pro.
Those who pass through the Hydel programme will be productive members of our society.”
The Hydel vision also means that while not ruling out recruiting players, the school will use the available talent from their existing student population, preparing them to transition through high school and into the collegiate system in Jamaica and overseas.
“I wouldn't necessarily point to any one feeder institution per se. Hydel Prep is the easiest to consider the feeder for obvious reasons,” Nairne reasoned.
“Hydel already has numerous connections to tertiary institutions in North America and we will look to strengthen these connections as well as add a few others over time.”
As for the coming season, Nairne believes that under the guidance of Anderson, Hydel will be competitive with the aim of improving each year going forward.
“We hope to have a disciplined and competitive team this first season with realistic ambitions. Remember that greatness can't be rushed. We will be patient with the system and the persons within,” he said.
“Our plan is to further develop the culture of this excellent institution.”
Leighton Levy is a journalist with 28 years’ experience covering crime, entertainment, and sports. He joined the staff at SportsMax.TV as a content editor two years ago and is enjoying the experience of developing sports content and new ideas. At SportsMax.tv he is pursuing his true passion - sports.
Sporting Kansas City v Minnesota United: Ramsay aiming to regain momentum after 'dent'
Eric Ramsay is hopeful Minnesota United's latest defeat has not dented their momentum as they prepare to travel to Sporting Kansas City in MLS.
Minnesota have won two and lost two of their last four MLS matches, with those two victories both coming on the road.
They are ninth in the Western Conference after losing to FC Cincinnati in their last outing, failing to mount a comeback after two first-half goals from their visitors.
Ramsay was slightly disappointed by the result but is determined to take the positives from that game as they continue their playoff push.
"We showed some naivety [against Cincinnati] with the goals we conceded, but the game as a whole was largely very good," he said.
"We went toe-to-toe with one of the best teams in the whole division. We have to take that as a positive and use that as a step forward, as a continuation of the momentum that we've built so far and not let it dent what we've already done."
Meanwhile, Sporting are 12th in the league, having lost just one of their last five league matches.
They beat Colorado Rapids 4-1 last time out, with Alan Pulido netting a brace, and head coach Peter Vermes was delighted to see him getting in on the goals.
"Alan has this level in him and has great form over the past two months, but we're playing him in better places on the field," Vermes said. "We haven't found enough chances to get him in on goal, and we need to keep improving that.
"The good thing is that we have options, we're not stuck. We're limitless right now, we have a lot of different ways in which we can put different combinations of players on the field."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sporting KC – Alan Pulido
Pulido scored twice in Kansas City's win over Colorado on Wednesday, his seventh multi-goal game for Sporting.
The only two players in club history with more multi-goal regular season games are Dom Dwyer (10) and Digital Takawira (eight).
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Kelvin Yeboah scored from the penalty spot on Wednesday, with three of his four goals this season have been via penalty kicks.
Yeboah is the fourth player to have 3+ penalty kick goals in a season for Minnesota, with Darwin Quintero being the only Loons player with more (four in 2019).
MATCH PREDICTION: SPORTING KANSAS CITY WIN
Sporting KC have won 10 of their 11 all-time home matches against Minnesota, including the last four in a row. Minnesota's lone result at Sporting was a 3-0 victory in the 2020 playoffs.
Indeed, Kansas City have won three straight home matches across all competitions, with all three victories coming by multiple goals. This is the first time Sporting have won three straight home games, all by 2+ goals, since a four-game run to start the 2019 season.
However, after going winless in eight straight on the road (D2 L6), Minnesota have recorded back-to-back wins away from home. The longest road winning streak in club history in all competitions is three matches, achieved in both 2022 and 2023.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Sporting KC – 46.8%
Draw – 26.4%
Minnesota United – 26.8%
Dream debut: Dixon shines with goal, assist on debut for Charlton U21s in 3-2 win over Watford
Reggae Boy Kaheim Dixon was on the scoresheet in his debut for Charlton Athletic U21s in a 3-2 win over Watford at Vicarage Road on Friday.
Charlton took the lead after just two minutes through a goal from Henry Rylah before Watford got their equalizer through Mamadou Doumbia a minute later.
The 19-year-old Dixon, who joined the League One club from Arnett Gardens in August, then capitalized from a defensive mistake by Watford to put his team up 2-1.
Charlton then went two goals clear thanks to Mile Leaburn, who was assisted by Dixon.
Doumbia got his second goal of the game to finish the scoring at 3-2.
Charlton U21s now have 19 points in seven games in the Professional Development League.
The win strengthens lead atop the table to six points.
They will next take on Brentford U21s on October 1.
Alcaraz beaten on Laver Cup debut with Zverev in doubles
Carlos Alcaraz suffered defeat on his Laver Cup debut, as he was beaten in straight sets alongside Alexander Zverev in doubles by Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton.
Team Europe put up a strong fight but struggled to match Fritz and Shelton, who won 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 in one hour and 37 minutes.
Alcaraz and Zverev made a slow start to the match, losing their serve in the fourth game as the Americans went on a three-game winning streak, but they pulled it back to level the tie, only to lose the tie-break.
Team Europe looked to have found their groove in the second set but failed to convert four break points in the fourth game as Fritz and Shelton levelled the score at 2-2.
A three-game winning run at the end of the set, including one more break, was enough to get Team World over the line, pulling them back to 2-2 at the end of day one.
Francisco Cerundolo had originally given Team World the lead with a shock win over Casper Ruud before Stefanos Tsitsipas and Grigor Dimitrov's wins had put Team Europe 2-1 up.
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