THOSE who had the privilege of seeing him play decades ago remember Mr Geoffrey Maxwell, who died late last week at age 76, as a tough, uncompromising defender with enviable anticipatory expertise.

Excelsior High School and clubs including Elletson Flats, Real Mona, and Santos (of Jamaica), as well as the Jamaica national team, benefited from his skills as a player.

But we believe it’s fair to say that it was as a coach that Mr Maxwell made his greatest contribution as a true, dedicated, hard-working servant of football.

We agree with Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts that Mr Maxwell was, for decades, “…an inspiring person in the development of football in Jamaica…”

Mr Andrew Pryce — among Jamaica’s top coaches currently — who remembers playing alongside Mr Maxwell at Santos while still a schoolboy, also had a close-up view of him as coach.

Said Mr Pryce, as reported by this newspaper: “… I’ve encountered Geoffrey over the years and he has always been a very astute and tactical coach. One of the things that he did was a lot of analysis… He would work out teams and find ways to distort them and try [to] overcome them.

“Very good football mind. Very pragmatic, very resolute in his convictions…”

Those are sentiments routinely echoed by all who had contact with Mr Maxwell.

He was a strong-minded leader, never a follower — a characteristic captured by the Brazilian Mr Rene Simoes who famously guided Jamaica to the senior men’s FIFA 1998 World Cup in France.

Quizzed on television as to why the very knowledgeable and capable Mr Maxwell wasn’t among his assistant coaches, a visibly puzzled Mr Simoes was heard to say: “Coach Maxwell assist? Coach Maxwell can’t be [assistant], Coach Maxwell [would have to be] coach…”

A decade earlier, in the late 1980s to 1990, Mr Maxwell did serve briefly as head coach of Jamaica’s national team — credited with being the first to guide this country to an away World Cup-qualifying win, a 2-1 triumph over Puerto Rico.

We are reminded by this newspaper that as a youthful coach Mr Maxwell guided Excelsior High to the 1980 Manning Cup title and won two Walker Cup crowns while there.

He also coached elsewhere in schoolboy football.

At club level, in Jamaica’s top league, he coached at Santos, Harbour View, Tivoli Gardens, Arnett Gardens, St George’s SC, Jamaica Defence Force, Maverley/Hughenden, and Waterhouse.

Our reporter tells us that Mr Maxwell’s refusal to compromise or allow interference by others in team selection was partly responsible for his constant movement from club to club.

We are touched by the heartfelt tribute to Mr Maxwell from Waterhouse — a club he guided to the top tier in 1996 and then to the national league title in 1998.

Said Waterhouse in a statement: “Coach Maxwell was more than just a tactician on the sidelines; he was a mentor, a leader, and a true architect of success… His dedication, passion and strategic brilliance left an indelible mark on our club, guiding us to memorable triumphs and elevating our standards both on and off the pitch.”

For sure, Mr Maxwell’s work stands tall as an example to follow for all true servants of Jamaica’s football.