Whether as a coach or an athlete, Neil Harrison has had a long and distinguished career in sports.

A 400 800 metres runner, Harrison competed for Tivoli Gardens Comprehensive High and later GC Foster at big meets such as Boys’ and Girl’s Champs, Intercol Championships, and Penn Relays.

He did his formal training at GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport and launched into coaching at Clarendon College in 1989, first guiding the career of girls.

A firm believer in Christ, Harrison later moved to the all-boys’ institution Munro College, in the St Elizabeth hills of Malvern, where he coached the daCosta Cup football team as well as the track and field team.

Three years ago he landed the track and field coaching job at Kingston College (KC), where he also worked with the Manning Cup football team.

“I’ve coached football. I’m a proud product of GC Foster College of Physical Education and Sport. GC Foster taught us to be optimally rounded,” offered Harrison.

“I’ve done well at both track and field and football, but at Kingston College the programme is very hectic, so you’ve to make a choice and since track and field has always been the number one, I stick to that here.”

Last year Harrison scored his first major success with the KC track team by winning the Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championship Anthrick Corporate Area Development Meet.

On Thursday, the veteran coach and his team repeated the feat, defeating arch-rivals Calabar High to yet another success at the Anthrick Development Meet, the third of five meets in the 2017 Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championships.

The boys from North Street topped the competition with 344 points, well ahead of Calabar High (288.50), Jamaica College (202), Excelsior High (143.50) and Wolmer’s Boys’ (141), completing the top five.

“Winning is a habit and we’re happy that we were able to execute, given that we’ve been performing well all season,” said KC’s head coach. “It’s nice to win titles and we’re glad that we defended our title, even though we were expecting to win.

“We just want to keep the focus and ensure that come the big day, we can rise to the occasion and come out on top. We just need to remain healthy and keep the focus,” added Harrison.

That focus is on several upcoming meets, including the 2017 Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championships, Carifta Games and Boys’ Championships, which KC last won in 2009.

With a $15-million sponsorship this year and a main prize worth $1-million worth of sporting equipment and rewards for individuals and teams that excel by breaking a record, topping the Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championship is high on their agenda.

“Sports is very expensive; from transportation, from accommodation to food, there are so many different things that are costly as it relates to sports, and I think Digicel plays a major role in our sports programme in terms of helping us to offset these costs,” Harrison noted of the Grand Prix Series, now in the third of a five-year deal.

“It is very attractive in the Grand Prix. You compete at the Corporate Area championships and at least you can go home with $250,000. You’ve at stake $25,000 if you break a Grand Prix record and that can do so much as it relates to athletes and your sports programme, and a lot of schools look forward to the Digicel Grand Prix Championships, especially the schools that are not in a position to win Champs,” he explained.

“They set their objectives to see how much funds they can garner through this championship.”

The money for breaking an individual record goes towards the bursary of student athletes and Harrison says he is keen that athletes benefit in this regard.

“As a coach you play a multiplicity of roles. You’re not only a coach, you’re pretty much a father, a mentor; you play a very serious role as it relates to athletes,” he said.

“A lot of students are placed in your care and so being a father, you pretty much understand kids and you’re able to make that transition.

“I’ve a son, Kaneal, who has been involved in track and field and went to Munro. He’s now at the Kansas State University, so as a parent you want a holistic life for your child,” he stressed.

“These are the type of things, outside of athletics, I tend to encourage them to do so that they can have a holistic approach in terms of gaining scholarships because it’s always an expensive life outside of high school and so as a coach I’m always influential in that area of their life.”

Despite his passion, there is more to Harrison’s life than sport as he values family with high regard and is deeply spiritual.

“I enjoy a quiet time, pretty much with my family,” he shared of time away from coaching. “Family is very important, so when I’m not working I share some quality time with my family.

“Outside of sharing quality time with my family, at weekends it’s church. Christ must always be the centre of your life. He’s in total control of everything and you’ve to give Him praise,” noted Harrison, while calmly enjoying another distinguished moment in his sporting career — of guiding KC to another success in the Digicel Grand Prix Athletics Championship’s Anthrick Corporate Area Development Meet.