Kingston college hockey program was revitalized in 2008 when Rudolfo Johnston, a level-1 hockey coach, was invited to come back to his alma mater to assist with the program. During the season 2008-09 all three age group teams (U-14, U-16, U-19) moved from last position to 5th and 6th within the local rankings.
In 2009-2010, through a concerted effort and assistance from the New York chapter we were able to get some much needed equipment, goal keeping pads, sticks and balls to assist us in our quest to return to dominance in a sport that the "purples" once excelled.
Our 2010-11 season has since borne fruit with the U-16 team making it to the finals undefeated and only conceding one goal while scoring 21. Noted marksman, Leon Kerr (team Captain) who is also son of a former Fortisan Hockey player, accounted for 11 of those goals and the top goal scorer trophy. He was assisted by Neville Morrison, Falode Johnson, Zachary Brown, Jevaun March, Tyrone Morrison, Rajay Wallen, and Roberto-Earl Lynch.
Unfortunately, the team conceded an early goal in the finals against Munro and lost 1-0.
Of note is the fact that 80% of this team is under the age of 14 years and go on to play in the U-14 competition which begins on May 30, 2011. The Kingston College Hockey program is still in the development stages as we work to get back on top of yet another sporting discipline. However, this is not easy as we are short of equipment which is quite evident when 30 boys turn up to a training session and we only have equipment for 10.
The coaches have also proposed to have hockey as an inter-house competition starting next school year. Currently, there is a pilot competition to be hosted during the month of May geared towards this. The Fortis Pavilion have committed to providing a trophy for this. However, the format of this pilot competition is such that the squad of 35 players has been split into seven groups of five each; however, they are to add to each group three persons who have never played the sport as we seek to generate interest among the boys. Because the school does not have a proper playing surface, this competition will be played inside the pool at North Street.
This season, even though they did not make the finals, the U-19 team (six of these players are lower sixth formers) played commendably and it must be noted that three players from this team, captain Mark Coke, vice captain Kevaun Reid and Leon Kerr were selected to the All Star Team for U-19 players.
Road to the finals:
K.C. vs Campion 2-0
K.C. vs Old Harbour 3-0
K.C. vs Clan Carty 5-0
K.C. vs Mona 1-0
K.C. vs Tivoli 1-0
K.C. vs STATHS 8-0
Semi-final
K.C. vs J.C. 1-1 (full time) 3-2 on penalties
Finals
K.C. vs Munro 0-1
I commend all who contributed to a good season.
Rudolfo Johnston
Coach –Kingston College