St Andrew coach Mabracq Harris eyes big wins for career
Mabracq Harris is a man on a mission to attaining greatness in coaching.
He recently guided the St Andrew team to a second-consecutive win in the Jamaica Teachers’ Association (JTA)/Sagicor Athletic Championships inside the National Stadium, winning by an emphatic 100.5 points to second-place finishers St Elizabeth.
Harris coaches both track and field and football at New Day Primary School where he has won three football titles in 11 years, showing his versatility as a coach.
As head coach he put together the squad whose dominance was quite evident when they won seven of the 10 relays at the two-day championships on May 24 and 25.
According to Harris, the reasons for this type of display were simple but also a result of strategy.
“Repeated baton practice, good coaching and the right combination of athletes will get the job done on the day,” he said.
After the display put on by St Andrew this year, the G C Foster graduate believes that a run of titles is on the cards.
“I definitely think we can go on a winning streak because we have always been producing quality athletes in the parish from the feeder schools namely Half-Way-Tree Primary, St Richard’s, Rousseau Primary and St Jude’s, therefore we can continue this streak for another four years, especially with the quality we have at the under-nine and 11 categories,” he explained.
Harris praised the efforts of organisers and sponsors, which have helped to impact grass-roots track and field in the country.
“It’s definitely a good initiative, allowing athletes from the grass-roots level to showcase their talent on a big stage in National Stadium,” he declared.
He revealed that the athlete he is proudest to have coached is former St Jago High quarter-miler Andy Williams.
“Andy Williams, who got a scholarship to St Jago High and performed creditably, making the finals of the 400-metre each year at Champs, is hands down the best athlete I have coached,” he divulged.
Harris went to both St Catherine High School and Dinthill Technical where he was student council president in his final year, before heading to G C Foster College.
“My experiences at these institutions were a good character-builder for me and they have allowed me to be where I am at today,” he said
With repeated success expected at the junior level, the ambitious St Catherine native is looking to taking it a step further soon. “I am definitely working towards that venture of coaching at a high school,” he said.