In 2001, 18-year-old Allien Whittaker was named the Most Outstanding Goalkeeper at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Argentina. But, instead of making the seemingly natural transition into the ranks of a professional footballer he joined the army in 2005. Eight years on, Oshane Tobias finds that Whittaker, his childhood hero, has no regrets with how his life turned out.

AS a young goalkeeper at Clarendon College (CC), I idolised Allien Whittaker. Not Warren Barrett. Not Aaron Lawrence. Not even the Manchester United, Danish legend Peter Schmeichel.

My nightly dreams as an 11-year-old, going on twelve, were awashed with images of myself imitating Allien’s match-winning saves against the likes of Edwin Allen, Garvey Maceo and Cornwall College in that 1998 Triple Crown season (which yielded the daCosta Cup, Ben Francis Knock-out title and the Olivier Shield).

This “superhero” respect for Allien was equally shared by my fellow juvenile netminders – Amin ‘Beenie Man’ Anderson, Kevin ‘Knoxy’ Bailey and Sheldon ‘Bugs’ Brown – at the Chapelton-based high school.

Our adoration for ‘Bussy’, as we called him, was not just because he was a national youth player, but also because he was a model student-athlete. He was commanding – sometimes downright miserable – on the field of play, yet a humble individual whenever he shed his goalkeeping garb for a khaki pants and shirt, a navy blue tie – decorated with almost horizontal gold stripes – and that famous, black Uhlsport knapsack on his back.

Walking around on the lavish 113-acre campus in North Central Clarendon, you could tell that he knew he was a role model of sorts. So, unlike a number of his teammates, you would never really hear his name being floated around in any kind of murky water. He was a principled young man on the road to success. And as the senior custodian in the school, Allien always looked out for the 13, 15, and 16-year-olds to whom he would eventually pass those huge goalkeeping gloves in the not so distant future.

In his final years at CC, Allien became more than just a D’Cup captain, but somewhat of a coach. In the evenings, while the outfield players trained to one side of the field, he would often take us to the opposite side and would drill us like recruits seeking a place in the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF).

It was rough stuff. But we wouldn’t complain one bit. We believed, with heart and soul, that with that sort of military-like training, we would one day be like Bussy.

We were essentially his Four Disciples. Competition amongst us was fierce, though friendly, as he taught us to be. “Not because yuh competing for the same position, goalkeepers have to stick together,” he always said.

It was, therefore, a real heartbreaking moment when news broke in 2005 that Allien, whose progress in the national set-up had been stalled by a serious knee injury, was joining the army. Football, we felt at the time, would now play a secondary role in his life. Our Clark Kent had been infected by kryptonite.

Early on in his army career, Allien managed to stay on the radar while playing second-tier football with the JDF in the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association Super League. A brief stint with the senior Reggae Boyz in 2007 under Serbian coach Velibor ‘Bora’ Milutinovic gave us hope of a storybook comeback for Allien. But deep down, like those frustrated Arsenal fans who got to see club legend Thierry Henry wear the Gunners’ uniform in the 2011-2012 season, we knew it was just one of those moments when we got to see our boyhood hero strut his stuff on the national stage for one last time.

More than a decade has elapsed since Allien left CC. He has now outlived his days as the relatively short, agile schoolboy goalkeeper who starred for Jamaica at two youth World Cups (the 1999 Under-17 in New Zealand, and the 2001 U-20 edition in Argentina, where he was named the Most Outstanding Goalkeeper). His time in the Reggae Boyz set-up has long passed. But, having maintained my association with him, I’m pleased that his passion for the game stayed with him throughout the years.

Naturally, he’s still disappointed with the premature end to his playing career. But from what I have seen, he has “no regrets” with how his life has turned out. At 30, he’s now an eight-year member of the JDF, a husband and a proud father of a six-month-old daughter. Family life, he told me, is “fun”.

“It is something I always wanted,” he said.

Sunday, August 11 will mark seven years since Allien launched his football festival, the Allien Whittaker Unity Cup. This year, the tournament will be held at the Four Paths Community Centre in South West Clarendon. It will feature usual suspects Clarendon College, Garvey Maceo, Glenmuir High, and Humble Lion. The newcomers are Lennon High, Spaulding High, Rusea’s High and Rivoli United.

Allien has struggled to keep this project going since its inception in 2006. But he won’t give up – at least not anytime soon. He’s strong-willed and knows only too well how to overcome obstacles.

“I wanted it to be something like the Roper Cup (played each summer between North Street rivals Kingston College and St George’s College),” he once told me. But financial support has been very thin. “Right now, mi kind a give up on sponsorship,” he said recently, “so everything basically comes out of my own pocket. (Rodolph) Austin normally give me some help, but otherwise it’s all me.”

Keeping the Unity Cup – which will this year honour Lennon High coach Merron Gordon and Vere Technical track athlete Shericka Jackson – afloat in the face of adversity was welcomed news for those of us past students who use it as a reunion. But for those of us who benefitted from his tutelage, hearing that Allien will now pursue a coaching career was the better news. It brought back pleasant childhood memories. To us, coaching was always the natural fit for him.

Initially, he will take it in strides, though, by offering goalkeeping clinics to the young goalies from CC and Garvey Maceo, the school he attended before transferring to CC. But long-term, his plan is to become more than a goalkeeper coach. Paul Campbell, the former national goalkeeper coach and Allien’s mentor, told him not to limit himself.

“I already have a Level One coaching certificate,” he revealed, “but for now the focus is on goalkeeping because I see where I can make an immediate contribution to the national programme.”

“I have always been helping out,” he continued, “but now it will be in a more structured way,” he told me. Paul Campbell gave me some balls so now I have my own tools to work with. What I want to do is set aside one day out of the week for all the ‘keepers at CC, not just the ones in the D’Cup team. And as you know, Garvey is also my school, plus that is where my father (Patrick ‘Velvet’ Whittaker) is coaching, so I will also be working with those keepers.”

Unlike the ‘Four Disciples’ of yesteryear, the current crop of goalies at CC and Garvey might not be old enough to have witnessed, firsthand, Allien’s magical moments on the field. But in the former Galaxy, Hazard (now Portmore), Rivoli and Village United custodian, they will certainly find a true role model with many tales of success, failed dreams and bouncebackability to share.