A pall of gloom hovered over Holy Trinity High School and the wider Inter-Secondary schools’ Sports Association (ISSA) family yesterday with the heartbreaking news that one of their own had died, cut off in the tender flower of youth.

Schoolteachers, students, members of the football fraternity, friends, and relatives of Jordan ‘Reddo’ Foote were plunged into mourning when the teenaged footballer lost his battle with cancer at the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew yesterday morning.

Foote, 18, was diagnosed with the dreaded disease, which started in his left knee prior to the start of the schoolboy season last year, and consequently spread “to all parts of his body”.

As the aggressive cancer gained momentum, it claimed an invaluable prize when Foote’s left leg was amputated consequent to related complications in December of 2015, delivering a crushing end to a football career in bloom.

In 2014, the lad from Dunkirk, a tough Kingston inner-city community, was on top of his game. His school team, Holy Trinity, enjoyed one of its most glorious seasons in schoolboy football.

In addition to being competitive in the Manning Cup and advancing to the knockout stages, the school — located at 18 George Headley Drive in Kingston next door to the iconic Sabina Park — also romped to the final of the then Lime Super Cup.

Holy Trinity eventually lost to Jamaica College.

The school’s success was largely attributed to the skill, leadership and heart of Jordan Foote.

But at the height of the school’s and Foote’s unprecedented success in football, mother fate delivered a mighty blow.

The crafty midfielder, who picked up an injury while playing in the pre-season STETHS Cup in St Elizabeth last year, later received the news no one wants to hear, when he was diagnosed with bone cancer.

But as Foote bravely fought to kick the parasitic disease from his body, he was not alone. He enjoyed unshakeable support from a circle of friends and family members, some of whom stayed with him to the very end.

One of them was his football coach, mentor and “father”, Devon Anderson.

“Words can’t express how I am feeling right now. I have not only lost a player or a student, I have lost a son. I was like the father he never had,” a deeply emotional Anderson told the Jamaica Observer yesterday.

“He was proud, very jovial, and football was his life… during his hospitalisation he wore his Holy Trinity shorts and kept his jersey close by at all times. He was a player who didn’t love to lose and gives his all for the team at all times and was a leader,” the Holy Trinity coach remembered.

“It’s so sad because I saw Jordan moving on to playing for Jamaica at some level.”

Anderson claims he was at his friend’s bedside just minutes before his last breath.

“I held his hand and he squeezed mine, then I rubbed his head, and I couldn’t hold back the tears… I told him ‘don’t go anywhere’ and I left the room, and shortly after his brother came running towards me to say he had passed,” he said.

Anderson, who guided Foote through his various development stages as a footballer, said he had visited with the deceased the previous Friday and Saturday and the bedridden youth was in good spirits, typifying his upbeat nature.

“We spoke about football, especially about Holy Trinity and the upcoming season. He was telling me what formation to play and which player would fit in what position,” the coach shared.

“When I was leaving I asked him if he needed anything, and he said ‘yes, I need a phone’… and he said he wanted a Samsung S6, and I went to the principal (Margaret Bolt) and the school purchased it for him and I returned the following day and gave it to him,” Anderson said, fighting back the tears.

A teammate of Foote’s, Sean-Dean Daley, said his late friend lived and breathed football and was an inspiration to him and all members of the team even as he fought the killer disease on all fronts.

“We constantly talked about football and, as a player, he was outstanding on the field. If he’s out there playing, he’s going to stand out; he was a midfield maestro… he was awesome,” said the Holy Trinity left-back.

“When I visited him in hospital two weeks ago, all we spoke about was football and Holy Trinity’s team and the upcoming season. He will be sadly missed,” noted Daley.

A former teammate, who transferred to St George’s College, goalkeeper Cordel Irving, remembered his departed friend as a “humble person” and a “true leader” who never became flustered under pressure.

“He was honest and was always going to tell you how he felt. Jordan was a genuine person and he never liked when people felt sorry for him,” noted the former Holy Trinity student who played Pepsi and Colts with Foote.

even though he moved a down the road to St George’s, Irving said the bond of friendship between himself and Foote grew stronger.

“He and I got closer when he got sick. Now it’s going to be difficult not seeing him physically; his passing will leave a void, an empty space in my life, but I will cherish the good memories that will stay with me,” he told the Observer by telephone yesterday.

Foote, who also represented Santos FC in the KSAFA Super League, leaves behind three brothers and his mother Nadine Sutherland.

Meanwhile, Jamaica Football Federation President Captain Horace Burrell, in a widely circulated statement, expressed sadness at the passing of the promising player.

“Many of us remember, not just his skills on the field, especially in the 2014 season, but his positive attitude and encouragement to his teammates at Holy Trinity, even when he was in hospital.

“his spirit, even in adversity, we are sure impacted many. Our heartfelt thoughts also extend to his former coaching staff, the ISSA fraternity and the principal and staff of Holy Trinity.”