‘There are so many great moments’

WATERHOUSE FOOTBALL Club continue to mourn the passing of their legendary former coach, Geoffrey Maxwell, who passed on the weekend after suffering from Alzheimer’s for some years.

Maxwell, who was 72 years old at the time of his passing, is being hailed as the pioneer of what Waterhouse Football Club is today.

Club chairman Bruce Bicknell described Maxwell as an unsung hero of the club and community, and that the club is in discussions to ensure that his contribution is remembered for generations to come.

“Geoffrey was an unsung hero. In the 1990s he was coach, president, and everything for the team. They even won the league in 1998. He was really the pioneer of Waterhouse,” he said.

“Later on we became friends and he was really phenomenal. We are going to miss him very much. We are in discussions on how we are going to honour him physically at the stadium. But we can’t really reveal that as yet.”

According to Bicknell, the club will make those plans public within a week. But says that whatever it does, Maxwell will be in its presence at all times.

Maxwell took Waterhouse to the Premier League in 1996 and won the title in 1998 with a team that included players such as Kevin Lamey, the late Irvino English, Kirk Martin, Damion Powell, Kevin Eldemire and Baris Johnson, among others.

He implemented a 3-4-3 formation that was virtually unknown to Jamaica at the time and took the league by storm.

At the time, Waterhouse had one of the only properly grassed surfaces in the league, which was an advantage the astute tactician used to good effect.

Present coach Marcel Gayle, a teenager when under the wings of the legendary coach, witnessed him work up close and counts Maxwell as one of the greatest Jamaica has seen.

“Geoffrey Maxwell was one of the greatest coach locally. He was my first mentor when I was a youth coming through the club. I coached at all levels and Geoffrey was there and some of the things he instilled, I copied and made it my own,” said Gayle.

“To his family and loved ones, my condolences and my heart goes out. His legend lives on. He was a class act and etched amongst the greats.”

He also pointed to Maxwell’s tactical genius as well as his humanitarianism in the community, saying he is working with the upper echelons of the club to ensure that his memory lives on within the Waterhouse club and community.

“There are so many great moments that I can recall about this great man. He had a very high standard and when the club could not make the standard, he, himself, would go out and do whatever it takes to get the best out of the players. He would get under their skin to get them to perform.”

Former national midfielder and Waterhouse legend Hugh ‘Bingy’ Blair, who is credited for bringing Maxwell to Waterhouse in the ‘90s, said Maxwell changed many lives within the club and throughout the community and that he would love if the club honours him in the appropriate way.

“He took care of the youths (players) and he took care of their families. The wall on the far side (of the stadium), Geoffrey is the one who got persons to build. He got lights. He made our stadium one of the top stadiums in Jamaica and brought joy to the people every time,” he recalled.

“I would love for him to get a truly proper send-off. He saw the needs of the people and he uplifted Waterhouse.”

He recalled also that when Maxwell came to the community or training back then, he brought a smile to everyone’s face.

“When Geoffrey came in the evening, everybody got something when he went in his car back. The supporters would be here at training in the evening analysing and assessing players. Now it is just ‘Fuzzy’ (Gayle) and the players.

During his playing days Maxwell represented Excelsior High School, Elletson Flats, Real Mona, Santos, and Jamaica.

He was also Jamaica’s coach from 1988 to 1989, and again during Jamaica’s 1990 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

He also coached Santos, Harbour View, Tivoli Gardens, Arnett Gardens, St George’s SC, the Jamaica Defence Force, and Maverley/Hughenden.

On Sunday, Waterhouse defeated Portmore 1-0 at home in the Jamaica Premier league (JPL) and both Bicknell and Gayle dedicated the win to Maxwell. The day was also marked by a minute’s silence in his honour before the start of the game.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com