Spanish Town, Portsmouth lift Insports titles in St Catherine

Spanish Town Primary School made it three Insports St Catherine Primary Schools’ football titles in a row, following their 1-0 win over Old Harbour Primary in the final last Friday.

Portsmouth Primary School were also triumphant as they won the netball final 25-7 over Point Hill Primary to seal their fifth hold.

Kajaun Brown, the tournament MVP, scored the only goal of the game to give the Neriah Barrett-coached Spanish Town a three-peat.

School principal Roogae Kirlew and coach Barrett credited the school’s victory to their weekend and Christmas camps, which allowed them to instil discipline and administer a proper nutrition programme.

WEEKEND CAMPS

“It was a challenge because we have no sponsorship. So admin has to foot the bill, and we have a hard-working coach, a physical education department, and the parents give full support,” explained Kirlew. “We won the final against Old Harbour, and that was great for us.

“We did a lot of weekend camping because we wanted to have them in an environment where we can attend to their nutrition and discipline,” Kirlew added.

“We paid a lot of attention to their nutrition with supplements of vitamins and fruits, and we are extremely happy,” he commented.

Barrett concurred.

“We won the championship last year, and we only had two players returning, so we had to rebuild. It was a tough season,” said Barrett.

“Usually we start training in the summer, but we didn’t start training until September. But the camps did a great deal for them. Every day they got lunch and dinner after training, and that was a good thing for them,” he said.

He added that they anticipated a tough final against Old Harbour, and they were prepared.

“The game was tough, and I expected it. We played Old Harbour in a one-day rally, so we knew they would be a challenge. So we planned for it,” he stated.

After an evenly contested game, MVP Brown broke away and slotted past the Old Harbour goalkeeper for the game’s only goal.

In the third-place match, Crescent Primary edged Naggo Head 1-0.

NETBALL FINAL

Meanwhile, Portsmouth eased past Point Hill 25-7 to take the netball title on Wednesday.

Portsmouth dominated from the first quarter and took a 4-1 lead, which they stretched to 13-3 at half-time. The Portmore-based school pushed their lead to 18-4 at the end of the third quarter before taking the final period 7-3 to register a comprehensive victory.

Portsmouth’s coach Sheryl Wignall said they had one goal for the season and that the experience gained playing in the JNA League was priceless.