Hawthorne hopes St Jago reunion brings success

Veteran coach Danny Hawthorne says he is delighted to be back in charge of the St Jago High School boys’ track and field team and is looking forward to achieving even greater success during his second stint at the Spanish Town-based institution.

Hawthorne, who has more than 40 years of coaching experience, returns to St Jago a decade after leaving the school. He most recently coached at rival institution Calabar High last year.

During his first stint at St Jago, Hawthorne was primarily responsible for the development of 2011 world 100-metre champion Yohan Blake. He also nurtured national representatives Nickel Ashmeade and Riker Hylton at St Jago, as well as Nicole Mitchell and Percival Spencer during his time at St Mary High.

Hawthorne said he is confident that his return can result in another successful chapter.

“I am working with a good school and good persons. I have had very good times here before and I am expecting nothing less, but more, this time,” he said.

“I am more experienced and I know how to treat it now, so it should be even better this time, and I am hoping that it will be a very memorable one at the end of the day.”

Hawthorne added that his primary objective is to ensure the athletes maximise their potential, regardless of the quality of the team he inherits.

“Whether quality or not, my mandate is to ensure that the kids perform at their best,” he said.

“As a matter of fact, I am now trying to compile a list of boys who should be at St Jago, but I am still in a quandary as I speak because not all the persons that I see there I can account for now. Hence, I am waiting until the end of this week or next week, when I can speak definitively as to where that situation stands,” Hawthorne stated.

The veteran coach also revealed that he has already received encouraging support from parents, many of whom he has known for years.

“A number of parents have come up to me, every time I go there, that I know from way back and have been offering me their support, which is good,” he said.

“As a matter of fact, on Monday, one parent took her granddaughter to show me and to tell me that she is my former athlete’s daughter. So I am getting there because people are kind of joyous to see me back at the institution, and I am hoping the joy is genuine so that we can work harmoniously together for success this season.”

Hawthorne, who has worked at several schools throughout his lengthy coaching career, said he intends to give his best and that his intentions would have been the same no matter where he was.

“I have always been told that wherever you are planted, you should sow and blossom. So my mandate is to do what is necessary and to give of my best at all times, no matter who is in charge,” he said.