Hector – The kind motivator

When retired Holmwood Technical teacher and track coach Edward Hector was laid to rest in Kendal, Manchester late last month, he was remembered as good and kind. Among those present were 1995 ISSA Girls’ Championships gold medallist Tracey-Ann Baker and current Holmwood Technical girls’ team track and field coach Dave Anderson.

Baker, winner of the Class One 200 metres in 1995, and Anderson were thankful for the key role Hector played in their lives during his tenure at Holmwood which climaxed with him serving as vice principal.

“He meant the world to me, the whole world. He was like my dad. That man took care of me from day one when I entered Holmwood until now. I just saw him January because every time I come to Jamaica, I would actually go and look for him and make sure I take care of him before I go back, and when I got that call, I wasn’t expecting a call from them telling me that he passed,” the former Holmwood sprinter lamented.

Hector discovered young Anderson playing football in a physical education class at Holmwood and later encouraged him at the start of his journey as a track and field coach.

“When I returned as a graduate of G C Foster College, he was still there by my side to encourage me and said, ‘Dave, I know you are head coach for the football, but track and field is something I think you should take serious because I see that you are making some progress,” Anderson recalled.

“I can’t remember ever having any disagreement with Mr Hector throughout my time at Holmwood. As everyone said, he was a kind person, a great motivator. You know, I always had a good relationship with him and so then he would have been part of my foundation at Holmwood,” he added.

Baker, who lives in the USA, was devastated by news of the death of the former mathematics teacher.

“Maybe if one of my family members had died, I wouldn’t feel it so much as how I feel this. This man, he gave me so much good advice in my entire life,” she said. “He did so much,” she underscored, “And, if tears could bring him back, I would have brought him back.”

Like many, Anderson loved Hector’s down-to-earth approach to life.

“He would never be the one who rolled up his collar to say that I’m a VP. He was always within the vicinity of persons, of athletes and for me personally as an adult, I would give him a lot of credit for moulding me into the coach which I am today,” he recounted with gratitude.

Hector helped lift Holmwood to the forefront of high school athletics, with Garth Robinson emerging to become a 1996 Olympic bronze medal winner for his work in the 4x400-m.

Many of his champions were present at the March 25 thanksgiving service. They included discus thrower Kaydar Thomas, sprinter Kay Dennis, middle- distance runners Jermaine Myers, Kirk Wint and Kevin White and double 2002 World Under-20 relay silver medal-winner Yhann Plummer.

In addition, Hector served Jamaica as a national coach at every level.