Veteran coach, Danny Hawthorne, has ended his long standing association with the St. Jago High School. Hawthorne, hailed by many as one of the best coaches in the region, has been with the institution for over 20 years and has been head coach of the boys’ program for the past 13 years.
This revelation came as a surprise to many, as he is deemed a very successful coach. Many would categorize his tenure as a success.
Hawthorne pointed to abuse and a bitter relationship with sections of the St Jago past student body as reasons for his departure from the school, as he gets ready to take over the reigns at Wolmer’s in September.
The coach also pointed out, “It is hard after being at St Jago for nearly 20 years, where I first started as a football coach to get up and leave like that … but sometimes a change is inevitable because of what is happening,” Hawthorne said. He also said “Even though I would have liked to stay, things were getting acrimonious as some of the past students were getting bitter and unfriendly and were not kind in their words.”
Hawthorne thanked principals past and present of St. Jago High school and explained that the current principal Mrs. Collette Feurtado-Pryce did everything in her power to keep him at the institution.
Going forward, Danny says he will be working hard at Wolmer’s to hit new targets and elevate current standards.
Hawthorne has recently been named as head coach of Jamaica’s team to the World Under 20 Championships and has helped the careers of athletes such as Yohan Blake, Nickel Ashmeade, Nathan Allen and Raheem Chambers.
I just never see this coming… DANNY leaving St. Jago for another school. He was offered the job at KC two years ago but turned it down. I wonder what would have happened if he had chosen to BIG purple then. All the best at Wolmer’s Danny.