Audley Boyd, Assistant Editor - Sport

Last year, Charlie Smith High were challenging for the Manning Cup title.

However, in the championship, they went down 2-1 to Jamaica College, who were retaining their title.

For this season, Charlie Smith and Trench Town High schools have merged. Despite having more players to choose from, don't expect 'Charlie' to be there at the finish.

"This year our chances is no-no," said Charlie Smith head coach, Jerome Waite. "We're entering the competition to ensure that these players gain some experience."

The highly experienced and successful coach pointed out that practically all the players who led their charge in 2014 have left the school.

"Our school doesn't have a sixth form, therefore the core of the squad has left," Waite noted. "In fact, one of my better players, Jevaughn Crooks, is now at Jamaica College and the remaining players cannot play this year due to the fact that they have done two years in Grade 11 already, so we'll have to focus on the rest of the team."

Learning experience

Further, he said: "Charlie Smith and Trench Town merged this year, but as far as both schools are concerned, it will be a learning experience for those players from Trench Town, as they will be learning to play the system for the first time. That is not something they can absorb in one year, this is a new beginning for them.

"This season, one of the things is we plan to take the games one step at a time and see how far they can go. It's a development process."

In terms of experience, Keshorn Williams is the only returning player who competed almost every minute for 'Charlie' last season, while Ronaldo Wright saw action in less than half the games. Another Ronaldo, McDonald, was a regular in the Trench Town setup, while Kurt Hibbert and Javon Knight "never played in the first team" but add to the experienced lot.

"So it's a relatively new team, Waite said.