Tomboy ‘Pete’ Campbell credits Reggae Girlz career to doting dad
Although Sashana “Pete” Campbell is emphatic that her entire football career would not have been possible without the matriarch in her life, her mother Coral Davis, the player claims her father Clifton Campbell’s words of love and guidance have stayed with her.
Campbell, a 32-year-old Jamaican footballer who plays as a defender for the Jamaica senior women’s national team, says her family has always been supportive of her throughout her football career.
“My family is big on this [football]. My mom, my dad, and my two brothers are big on football, and so I kind have grown up as a tomboy. I played all the sports and they are right behind me,” Campbell told the Jamaica Observer.
Campbell said her father would never change the channel when she was playing, whether it be locally or internationally.
“Well, my dad, he called me every day. He watches my games even though he is not here. He is not much at my games a lot, but he tries to watch them online, and he always reach out to me, like before the game and after the game, giving me coaching points,” she said.
She continued, “I am so grateful for my father, and for me, I just want to say Happy Father’s Day to Clifton Campbell and also Happy Father Day’s to the amazing fathers we have out here in Jamaica.”
Campbell, who attended Darton College and the University of West Florida before embarking on a professional career, said that her father was not just there for her during her career but also the community of Beverly in the parish of Manchester.
“He was big on sports; he played cricket more than he did football, but he was big on sports. He is loving, he was always around, and he was a great dad,” Campbell said.
“He wasn’t just a great dad to me but to the community as well. Everyone who knows my father knows that he was always loving and helpful, as he was always there for everyone,” she further said.
Campbell, who joined Polish club Medyk Konin in April of last year, also acknowledges her mother for her support.
“Well, my mom, she is just the same. She has been there, and she tries to come to my games when she can, when they are in Jamaica.
“She watches it, and if she doesn’t watch it, she will call me and check up on me again. She is like a mom to the community; a lot of people call her Mommy Coral. She is amazing, and she supports me 100 per cent,” Campbell ended.