Two Kingston College players celebrating a goal in the preseason Roper Cup last month. - File

The schoolboy football season is up and running with schools from across the island matching skills in the Manning and daCosta Cup competitions. In order for the various schoolboy football teams to achieve their goals, discipline, dedication, hard work and long hours of training are required.

With all the time that is consumed by a football season, one is led to question how much time these boys have for schoolwork. It is essential that a balance be struck between playing football and doing schoolwork, as a strong academic foundation is necessary regardless of intended career pursuit.

It, therefore, becomes the duty of parents or guardians to ensure that the necessary time is devoted to each activity.

first Manning Cup season

Tedroy Jackson is a 16-year-old Wolmer's student who is currently participating in his first Manning Cup season. He has, however, been involved in football from the preparatory school level as he was a member of the Lannaman's Preparatory team. He was also part of the winning Wanders under-15 team and made it to the finals with the under-17 team. The young Portmore resident then moved on to Wolmer's where he represented them in the Pepsi and Colts football competitions and is now a member of the Manning Cup team.

The Gleaner caught up with Tedroy's father, Devon Jackson, to find out how he ensured that his son gave the necessary attention to his schoolwork.

"To be honest, he is a naturally bright student. He is doing the science subjects and he is doing well. He always gets a 'blue report' (a means by which the Wolmer's school celebrates academic achievement)," Jackson pointed out.

importance of schoolwork

To ensure that Tedroy appreciates the importance of doing his schoolwork, his father usually gives him an ultimatum.

"I let him know that the book work is first and if you can manage anything extra, then do it, but if you see in any way where it is impacting on your schoolwork, well you know you have to leave it alone," he stated.

Tedroy is required to devote at least four hours to studying each day.

"He finishes training at 5:30 p.m. and gets home around 7 p.m. He then studies until around 11 p.m. He has to put in four hours worth of studying, must be more, but not less, because he is doing CXC next year. On the weekend, he has to make up for those hours he lost during the week. He has no day off. Apart from football, it is just his book," the player's father said.

The elder Jackson, who was at the school watching his son's training session, said it was something he always did.

"I am always involved, I have to see the type of coach he has and the environment he is in. If I do not like the demeanour of the coach, then automatically, I just take my son out of that environment, but so far I haven't had that problem. You have to be well involved in your child's life and work hand in hand with the teacher because your child will be perfectly disciplined at home and is a totally different child at school. You have to be actively involved in every aspect of their life, and I don't think they can go wrong," he concluded.

Seventeen-year-old Rashane Garcia has been participating in football competitions since he was 10 years old. He represented Meadhaven FC for five years, where he won the under-13 competition with them three times and the under-15 once. While attending Dunrobin Preparatory School, he played on the winning knockout team at age 11 and repeated the knockout success at age 12, but added the league and all-island crowns as well.

He achieved all this football success while being an 'A' student. Rashane then moved on to Kingston College (KC) and almost immediately reaped success due to his football skills. In second form he was a member of his school's winning Pepsi and all-island teams. He is now into his third year of Manning Cup and is also a member of the Harbour View Football Club.

always there for him

Rashane's father, Lascelles Garcia, has been there for him every step of the way.

"I am always there for him. So as soon as he finishes training, I pick him up and bring him home, where he does at least two hours of school work. He is not the type who plays at home. He plays football at school and comes home and does schoolwork.

"His ambition is to be a footballer. He is very disciplined and once he believes in you, he is going to work with it. So, for example, if he is going to play video games, I just set the phone to alarm and when he hears it and he knows it is time to stop go to and study, and he just does it," Garcia said.

Rashane has, however, not been able to maintain his 'A' average achieved in prep school since he started KC and has seen it fall to a C. His father is, however, not overly concerned.

no complaints

"He was doing 16 subjects, so I was satisfied. He has been going through okay and I have not got any complaints about him, and I have kept the same programme that he had in prep school," the boy's father pointed out.

Rashane is also a part of the national set-up, as he has represented the country at the under-17 level. This, however, led to him repeating fourth form.

"I made him repeat fourth form because I thought Jamaica would have qualified for the under-17 World Cup. He would have been in camp most of the time and would not have been able to take his CXCs, so I made him repeat to take them after. He is still an average student, but once he decides to do something, he usually does it, so I still expect him to get his CXCs. His first choice is to play football and if that does not work out, he plans to go into banking. I ensure that he has a clear understanding that he has to be good at both (academics and football) to make it," Garcia said.