There's been a tremendous lack of quality grassroots football in St. Ann, with some administrator of programmes claiming it is functional and working just fine, when the results are lacking. 

However, it appears Ferncourt High School is focused on their own grassroots programme.

This is a very important step towards helping communities and talented kids to embrace their path and the potential growth therein.   

There used to be programmes where kids with the proven talent get an opportunity to attend the school of their dreams, and participate in the sport they love. Bringing this back to the forefront, will only stand to enhance the school's profile in a positive way.  Get recruited, or for the parents, discuss this with your child today! 

Thanks for representing and help putting eyes on Jamaica. I know you're with your family, enjoy the company of your son. Rest well.

Ferncourt High’s 2026 ISSA daCosta Cup campaign is beginning to look like more than simply a promising start. Under the guidance of veteran coach Paul “Tegat” Davis, the St Ann school has opened the season with three victories from three matches, scoring 14 goals while conceding just once.

The results are particularly striking because Davis is not working with an experienced squad. In fact, when he spoke about the team before the second round of matches, he described a group in which the oldest player is only 17, with many of the players between 13 and 16. Davis has made it clear that Ferncourt’s project is as much about development as immediate success. 

Yet, three games into the campaign, the youngsters are already giving supporters plenty of reason for optimism.

A perfect start

Ferncourt began their Zone C campaign on Saturday, September 5, against Cedric Titus High. It was not an easy opening assignment, but the Davis-coached side showed enough character to leave with a 2–1 victory.

Contemporary reports described the result as a hard-fought opening win and noted that Davis wanted his team to improve while taking the campaign game by game.

Ferncourt’s 2026 daCosta Cup results so far

• September 5 — Cedric Titus High 1–2 Ferncourt High — Win
  
• September 8 — Ferncourt High 9–0 Walkerswood Academy — Win
  
• September 11 — Ferncourt High 3–0 York Castle High — Win
  
  

The second match demonstrated just how quickly Ferncourt can turn potential into production. Against newcomers Walkerswood Academy at the Drax Hall Sports Complex, Ferncourt produced a 9–0 demolition, following up their narrow opening victory in emphatic fashion. Jamaica’s major sporting outlets reported the result, with the Jamaica Observer specifically identifying Ferncourt as a Paul “Tegat” Davis-coached team keeping pace with the early leaders in Zone C. 

Then came the significant statement against traditional rivals York Castle.

The 3–0 victory over York Castle was perhaps the most revealing result of the three. The schools finished level on 19 points in last season’s Zone K campaign, with Ferncourt advancing ahead of York Castle because of their superior goal difference. The rivalry therefore carries more weight than an ordinary preliminary-round fixture. 

Winning comfortably this time suggests that Ferncourt are not merely collecting points against the less fancied teams in the zone. They are beginning to establish themselves as a serious force within Zone C.

Davis has preached patience — but the players are accelerating the process

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Ferncourt’s emergence is that the team's coach himself had warned that supporters would need to be patient.

Davis took over the coaching reins this season with a young squad that he believes possesses considerable natural ability. “They are good talent. Very good, talented kids,” he told the Jamaica Observer. 

His philosophy is straightforward: give the players time to understand his methods, develop their decision-making and grow physically and tactically. He noted that many of them have another two or three years of schoolboy football ahead of them, meaning that the group is not yet close to its ceiling. 

Davis has also been careful not to promise instant success. His view is that the real payoff from his work could come next season, once the players have had more time to absorb his ideas.

That makes the current results particularly encouraging.

The coach essentially came into the season saying: give us time to develop.

His players have responded by saying: we are ready now.

The numbers tell their own story

Three matches into the campaign, Ferncourt's record is striking:

• Played: 3
  
• Won: 3
  
• Drawn: 0
  
• Lost: 0
  
• Goals scored: 14
  
• Goals conceded: 1
  
• Goal difference: +13
  
• Points: 9
  
  

The progression is also noteworthy.

The 2–1 win over Cedric Titus showed resilience. The 9–0 win over Walkerswood displayed attacking confidence. The 3–0 victory over York Castle suggested that the team can combine attacking quality with defensive control against a familiar and competitive opponent.

That progression is arguably more important than the raw goal tally.

A new identity under Tegat Davis

Davis is one of the more experienced coaches working in Jamaican football, and his appointment gives Ferncourt something that youthful talent alone cannot provide: experience in developing players and managing competitive matches.

The coach has openly acknowledged that the project will be challenging. But he has also made clear that he is willing to accept that challenge and work with the players rather than demand that they become a finished product immediately. 

That approach could prove particularly valuable for Ferncourt.

Schoolboy football can be heavily results-driven, but young players also need room to make mistakes, learn systems and develop confidence. Davis appears to understand that balance. His comments suggest that he sees this season as the foundation of something potentially bigger.

And the early results indicate that the foundation is already solid.

Ferncourt suddenly look like one of Zone C’s teams to watch

Ferncourt are competing in a Zone C group that includes Brown’s Town High, Marcus Garvey Technical, Walkerswood Academy, York Castle High, Cedric Titus High and Discovery Bay High.

Brown’s Town made an extraordinary start to the competition, beating Walkerswood 20–0 before defeating Marcus Garvey Technical 5–0. Ferncourt's own 9–0 victory over Walkerswood therefore has to be viewed in the context of a highly competitive race at the top of the zone.

Ferncourt may not yet have the same depth or experience as some of the established daCosta Cup powers, but Davis has something potentially just as important: a young group with several years of development ahead of them.

The danger for their opponents is that this team may improve rapidly as the competition progresses.
The biggest question: how far can they go?

It is still early. Three matches cannot tell us whether Ferncourt will make a deep run into the latter stages of the daCosta Cup.

But it can tell us something.

This is not the same Ferncourt side that supporters may have expected to take time to adjust to a new coach. Davis himself anticipated a developmental process and suggested that the major fruits of his work might become evident next season. 

Instead, his young players have responded with three wins, 14 goals and just one conceded.

The 3–0 victory over York Castle is especially significant because it combines the two things Davis will want most from his team: evidence that they are learning his methods and evidence that they can perform against meaningful opposition.

For now, the most appropriate description of Ferncourt is not yet “title favourites.” It is an emerging team that nobody in Zone C can afford to take lightly.

And perhaps that is exactly the position Davis would prefer.

He came to Ferncourt knowing the squad was young, knowing development would take time and knowing that the challenge would be considerable. His message before the season was essentially one of patience.

Three games later, however, Ferncourt have given their coach something more immediate than patience.
They have given him momentum.

If that momentum continues, the “fruits” Davis predicted for the future may arrive much sooner than he expected.

By Football Jamaica Forum Newsie

If the opening exchanges of the 2026 ISSA daCosta Cup are anything to go by, Ferncourt High could be one of the teams making plenty of noise in St Ann this season.
And the man at the centre of that early surge is veteran coach Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis, who has inherited a young squad but already has them playing with the confidence of a team much further along in its development.
Ferncourt have made a perfect start to the campaign, winning their first three matches and scoring 14 goals while conceding just once.

Their latest success, a 3-0 victory over York Castle, added another impressive chapter to what is quickly becoming one of the more intriguing stories of the preliminary round.
It is a remarkable beginning for a team Davis himself has cautioned should be viewed as a work in progress.

Ferncourt opened their Zone C campaign with a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Cedric Titus High on September 5.
It was hardly the sort of result that suggested what was to come, but it was an important three points for a young team learning a new coach's methods.
Contemporary reports described it as a narrow but valuable opening win, with Ferncourt among the early Zone C leaders.Then came York Castle.


Ferncourt 3, York Castle 0.

Three games. Three victories.

Fourteen goals scored.

One conceded.

That is the kind of start that gets people talking.

Ferncourt's results so far

• Ferncourt 2–1 Cedric Titus
  
• Ferncourt 9–0 Walkerswood Academy
  
• Ferncourt 3–0 York Castle
  

The numbers are impressive, but for Davis, the bigger picture appears to be the development of his players.

The temptation after a start like this is to immediately talk about titles and championship ambitions.
Davis, however, is taking a different approach.

The experienced coach has made it clear that Ferncourt are a young team and that the process of building them into a serious force will take time.

According to the Jamaica Observer, Davis described his players as talented youngsters, with many between 13 and 16 years old and the oldest only 17. His expectation is that the group will become even better as they mature and gain experience.

That is an important point.

Ferncourt are not producing these results with a veteran schoolboy squad packed with fifth-formers at the end of their development cycle.
They are doing it with players who, in many cases, still have several years of schoolboy football ahead of them.

Davis believes that is where the real promise lies.

His message has essentially been: be patient with this team because the best is yet to come.

The early results, though, suggest the future may already be arriving.

Davis has also used his new position at Ferncourt to raise a broader concern about the state of schoolboy football.

The former Jamaica international has strongly criticised the reduced format of the competition, arguing that young players simply do not get enough competitive matches to develop properly.

His frustration is understandable.

Schools can spend months preparing for the season only for a team to potentially have its campaign finished after a handful of matches. Davis believes that limits the development of players and denies them the opportunity to test themselves against different levels of opposition.

For a coach working with such a young group, that issue becomes even more significant.

A talented 14- or 15-year-old does not necessarily need another week of training.

He needs games.

He needs pressure.

He needs to make mistakes, recover from them and understand what competitive football demands.

Davis's argument is that the traditional schoolboy football structure provided more of those opportunities.

And if his Ferncourt players are to reach their potential, he clearly believes they need more than a short season.

There is an interesting contrast developing around Davis's Ferncourt project.

The coach is talking about development and the future.

His players are producing results in the present.

That is what makes the team so intriguing.


The 2-1 victory over Cedric Titus showed they could win a tight game.

The 9-0 demolition of Walkerswood showed their attacking potential.

And the 3-0 victory over York Castle provided another clean sheet and a convincing result against a familiar opponent.


It is also worth remembering that York Castle and Ferncourt were closely matched in the previous season. 

Ferncourt had edged the battle for advancement on goal difference after both teams finished on 19 points. 

So a 3-0 victory over York Castle represents more than just another three points.

It is another indication that Ferncourt are beginning to establish themselves as a serious Zone C contender.

Fourteen goals from three games is difficult to ignore.

Even allowing for the fact that Walkerswood are newcomers and suffered heavily against other Zone C opponents, 

Ferncourt's attacking output is remarkable.

The 9-0 scoreline came on the same day that Brown's Town defeated Marcus Garvey Technical 5-0, after Brown's 

Town had opened its own campaign with a staggering 20-0 victory over Walkerswood. 

That means Ferncourt are operating in a zone where the early standard at the top is exceptionally high. They cannot afford to become complacent. And that may be one of Davis's greatest strengths.

The veteran coach knows schoolboy football well enough to understand that a fast start means little if a team loses its focus when the pressure increases.

His emphasis on development suggests he is looking beyond the next fixture.

He wants players who understand the game.

Players who can make decisions. Players who can handle pressure. Players who will still be improving when the preliminary round is over.

There is also something refreshing about Davis taking on a project built around youth.

Instead of arriving at Ferncourt demanding an instant finished product, he appears prepared to develop the players and allow them to grow into the system.

The irony is that the youngsters are making his job look easier than it probably is.

Three matches into the season, Ferncourt have already developed the one thing every coach wants: momentum.

The results have brought confidence.

The goals have brought attention.

And the clean sheets suggest that the team is not relying solely on attacking football to get results.

That combination could become important as the competition gets tougher.

Don't call them favourites just yet

It would be premature to label Ferncourt favourites for the daCosta Cup.

There is a long way to go.

There will be tougher opponents, difficult pitches, injuries, pressure matches and moments when the youthful side will inevitably be tested.

But it would be equally foolish to dismiss them as merely a developmental team. 

They are winning. And they are winning convincingly.

For Davis, the immediate objective may be development, but his players are already raising expectations.

The coach may be asking supporters for patience.

His players, however, appear to be asking a different question:


For now, Ferncourt are unbeaten, scoring freely and defending with confidence.

And with Paul ‘Tegat’ Davis at the helm, the young St Ann outfit suddenly looks like a team with both a present and a future.

The daCosta Cup season is still young.

But Ferncourt have already made sure people are paying attention.

Obviously this got highlighted because Sabah, a team from Azerbaijan, has qualified for Uefa Champions League and will butt heads with some of the worlds biggest clubs.

He represented Dinthill Technical in Schoolboy football. 

St. Ann born balla.

    Trevor “Jumpy” Harris, one of the outstanding footballers produced by Jamaica's famous Kingston College (KC) programme, has died in Atlanta following a long illness. His death was reported on September 10, 2026, bringing an end to the life of a player whose influence stretched from Jamaican schoolboy football to the American college game and, later, coaching.

    For many Jamaican football followers, Harris will forever be associated with the extraordinary Kingston College teams of 1964 and 1965. For Michigan State University, he remains one of the greatest players in the history of its soccer programme. In 2016, he became the first member of the Michigan State soccer programme to enter the university's Athletics Hall of Fame. 


    Harris emerged during a golden era of Jamaican schoolboy football at Kingston College. He was part of the KC teams that dominated the local game in 1964 and 1965, winning the Manning Cup, Walker Cup and Olivier Shield in both seasons while remaining unbeaten across the two-year period.

    Those teams included a remarkable collection of talent, among them Tony Keyes, Neville Oxford, Franklyn “Bowla” Morant, Dennis Johnson, Mickey Vernon, Lloyd McLean, Winston Davidson and Leslie Lucas. The teams became regarded as among the greatest schoolboy football teams in Jamaican history. 

    Harris was not simply a member of those celebrated teams. He was a major attacking force. Contemporary and retrospective accounts credit him with 13 goals in the 1964 season and 21 in 1965, underlining his importance to KC's remarkable scoring record. One account described him as a powerful, bustling forward who was particularly dangerous in front of goal.

    One of the highlights of the KC era came when the school faced a Brazilian youth side. KC held the Brazilians to a 1–1 draw, a remarkable result given the quality of the visiting team. Several members of that Brazilian side, including Edu and Rildo, would later represent Brazil at the 1966 World Cup.


    Harris's performances at Kingston College helped open the door to a remarkable American college career. He joined Michigan State University in East Lansing and played for the Spartans from 1967 through 1969. 

    The move represented a major transition for a young Jamaican footballer. Harris later recalled the shock of arriving in Michigan from Jamaica and encountering snow and temperatures completely different from the warm climate in which he had grown up. He also benefited from a growing Jamaican connection at Michigan State, including fellow KC product Tony Keyes. 

    On the field, however, Harris quickly demonstrated that he belonged at the highest level of American college soccer.

    During the 1967 season, he scored 23 goals and helped Michigan State finish 12–0–2. The Spartans shared the NCAA national championship with St. Louis after the championship game ended 0–0. Harris was named a first-team All-American.

    The following year, Harris scored 15 goals and supplied 14 assists as Michigan State again reached the national championship game. The Spartans drew 2–2 with Maryland and were once again recognised as co-national champions. Harris was again selected as a first-team All-American. 

    An ankle injury interrupted his 1968 season, but Harris returned strongly in 1969. In one memorable performance against Kent State, he scored five goals, including three in a four-minute spell. He finished his Michigan State career with 48 goals and 116 points, figures that still place him among the leading scorers in school history. 


    Harris's achievements in East Lansing eventually received one of the university's highest honours.

    Michigan State inducted him into its Athletics Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2016. He was the first soccer player from the Spartan programme to receive the honour. The university recognised his two NCAA co-championships, his two first-team All-American selections and his outstanding scoring record. 

    His career remains particularly significant because of the role played by Jamaican footballers in establishing Michigan State as a national power during the late 1960s. Harris, Keyes, Frank Morant and Les Lucas all came through Kingston College and went on to play for the Spartans. 

    Harris's former teammate Tony Keyes later described him as a lifelong friend and recalled playing alongside him in Jamaica before the pair reunited at Michigan State.


    After his college career, Harris returned to Jamaica and continued his involvement in football. Archival reporting records that he played for the Jamaican national team before establishing himself as a businessman and football coach. He coached several club sides and later became involved with Jamaica's under-18 and under-20 national teams.
    His commitment to developing young players was also reflected in his later work at Kingston College. Harris returned to the school as a coach, continuing the connection with the institution where his football journey had begun.

    Football also became a family tradition. His son, Wolde Harris, went on to become a professional footballer and Jamaica international. Wolde later followed his father into coaching, including a spell working with Kingston College. 


    Harris belonged to a generation that helped demonstrate how talented Jamaican footballers could succeed beyond the island. His achievements at KC came during a period when Jamaican schoolboy football was producing exceptional players, while his success at Michigan State showed that those players could excel on the international collegiate stage.

    His legacy is therefore larger than his statistics. He was part of a Kingston College side that became synonymous with excellence, a two-time NCAA championship player, a two-time All-American and a university Hall of Famer. Just as importantly, he returned to coaching and helped pass his knowledge on to younger generations. 


    Trevor “Jumpy” Harris died in Atlanta on Thursday, September 10, 2026. He had reportedly been ailing for several years. The reports did not give a specific medical cause of death.

    News of his passing prompted tributes from the Jamaican football community, with Harris remembered as an important figure in the development of football at Kingston College and as a player whose career carried Jamaican football onto a wider stage. 


    Trevor “Jumpy” Harris leaves behind a legacy that spans generations.

    He was one of the stars of Kingston College's legendary 1964–65 teams, a key figure in Michigan State's back-to-back NCAA co-championships, a two-time All-American, a Hall of Famer and a coach who continued to give back to the game.

    For those who watched Jamaican football during its golden schoolboy era, however, his name will always carry a special meaning. Harris was one of the players who helped make Kingston College football legendary.

    His son Wolde continued that footballing tradition, but Trevor “Jumpy” Harris' own place in Jamaican football history had already been secured decades earlier.

    Rest in peace, Trevor “Jumpy” Harris — a Kingston College great and a lasting name in Jamaican football history!

---

Ferncourt High Fires Nine Past Walkerswood Academy to Maintain Perfect Start

[b]DRAX HALL, ST. ANN[/b] — Ferncourt High School continued their explosive start to the 2026 ISSA daCosta Cup campaign on Tuesday afternoon, delivering a devastating 9–0 masterclass against newcomers Walkerswood Academy at the Drax Hall Sports Complex. 
The victory keeps legendary former national striker Paul “Tegat” Davis and his side firmly neck-and-neck at the summit of Zone C.

Match Overview

Coming off a hard-fought 2-1 season-opening victory over Cedric Titus High, Ferncourt High entered Match Day 2 looking to establish real authority in the zone. They did exactly that against a Walkerswood Academy side still finding its footing in top-flight schoolboy football. 

The match was originally slated to be played at Ferncourt's home grounds but was shifted to the premium surface at Drax Hall. Ferncourt made the venue feel entirely like home, applying unrelenting pressure right from the opening whistle. By halftime, the game was effectively buried as a contest with Ferncourt leading 6–0, before adding three more in the second half to wrap up the 9–0 scoreline. 
Key Match Statistics
While official individual goalscorer sheets remain tightly guarded by team staff post-match, the team stats paint a clear picture of complete dominance:

• [b]Final Score:[/b] Ferncourt High 9 – 0 Walkerswood Academy
  
• [b]Halftime Score:[/b] Ferncourt High 6 – 0 Walkerswood Academy
  
• [b]Zone C Standings:[/b] Ferncourt High (6 pts, +10 GD) | Brown's Town High (6 pts, +25 GD)
  
• [b]Form Guide:[/b] Ferncourt High (W, W) | Walkerswood Academy (L, L)
  

Post-Match Reflections

Despite the heavy victory, Head Coach Paul "Tegat" Davis remains laser-focused on the bigger picture. In post-match remarks regarding the tight structure of this year's tournament, Davis expressed some structural frustrations about the formatting: [1]
“In my zone, Ferncourt have six games, so you play six games. Suppose the team don't make it? ... [teams could spend months preparing] only to have their campaign end after just six matches.” — Head Coach Paul “Tegat” Davis via the Jamaica Observer

With zero room for error in a short group stage, Ferncourt’s massive goal-scoring display provides a crucial boost to their goal-differential as they keep pace with fierce local rivals Brown's Town High. For Walkerswood Academy, it is another tough learning curve in their debut season, but the newcomers will look to regroup and hunt for their historic first DaCosta Cup points in the next round.