Wright on target
Published:Friday | February 25, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Young Reggae Boy delighted with Under-17 success
Ryon Jones, Gleaner Writer
Jason Wright proved to be the latest in a long line of Jamaican sporting heroes when he fired the nation into its third youth World Cup on Wednesday.
Wright netted a brace to lead the Under-17 team to a 2-1 win over Honduras in their CONCACAF Under-17 quarter-final match to secure their passage to this summer's FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Mexico.
He has also been responsible for four of Jamaica's five goals in the tournament to date.
The 16-year-old is naturally delighted with his personal achievement and that of his team and is optimistic that it will bring hope to the country.
"I am feeling pretty happy right now. I am just happy to know that my two goals helped my team to qualify for the World Cup that we have prepared ourselves for, for so long," Wright told The Gleaner yesterday. "Those two goals are the most important goals in my career so far, because they enhance my future and my country's as well."
The Wolmer's Boys' School student first got exposed to football at Elim Basic School, but started developing a reputa-tion as a prolific goalscorer while attending Hydel Prep.
"I played the preparatory competition for five years with Hydel, where I was helped by Corey Bennett and coach Brian," Wright reminisced. "I was the leading goalscorer for three of my five years, including my final year when we won the Alberga Cup and the Henriques Cup."
Impresses at wolmer's
He carried over his goalscoring prowess to Wolmer's and has made such an impression that despite being eligible to play in the Colts competition (Under-16), he has also been representing the school in the senior school football com-petition, the Manning Cup, over the past two seasons. In the 2010 season, he netted 13 goals in the Manning Cup and two for the Colts team.
"I never played a full season at the Colts level. I played Manning Cup and then after we got eliminated, I moved back down to Colts," Wright explained.
The Grants Pen resident has also managed to maintain a B+ average and has attributed much of his success to his father and the company he has chosen to keep.
"My father motivates me a lot because of his love for the game," Wright pointed out. "For me, it is easy to keep focused because the people I hang out with are persons with high ambition. We do positive things; each day we meet as a group, we work on our technical ability or we hang out and play games."
The young man has great ambitions for both his immediate and not-too-distant future.
Said Wright: "Personally, I am looking forward to winning this tournament that I am concentrating on achieving top goalscorer and from there will get prepared for the World Cup. Then, if it's God's will, get a contract or a scholarship from a university."