Chase’s ready to “take rightful place” in Digicel tournament – Head Master

When the Digicel Schools Football Championships were last contested in 2017, Chase’s Academic Foundation romped to a massive 6-2 victory against Annai Secondary to clinch their second consecutive title in the competition.
But that was the last the local football fraternity would see of the tournament, until now.

The tournament is set to return this Saturday, with the preliminary rounds kicking off, and Chase’s Academy are hopeful of reclaiming the top spot.
Speaking with media operatives on Wednesday during the Petra Organisation’s customary team briefing exercise, Head Master Henry Chase shared that they were ready to “take their rightful place” in the competition.
Chase said, “We’re basically new back into football, after four years. The good thing was I never discontinued the programme so we have right now a very good crop of players. What happened with the Milo, some of our players went on to play for other schools and they were banned from the Milo tournament, but we still had reasonable reserves to step up and we went to the final.”

“For the Digicel, we hope that these players now will take their rightful place for this tournament. I tell my players, once you’re playing for Chase, you come in and even before you start playing football, you’re under pressure,” he further stated.
Chase went on to discuss the team’s preparation and training, noting that the lads were eager to compete.
“We’ve had a few practice sessions with the Georgetown Academy, we had a game against a club team from the East Bank and we were successful. I think the guys are getting there, but also the weather is another factor that is preventing us from training,” the Head Master revealed.
“The guys are eager to play and we are hoping to defend our title. Obviously, we have other schools that are gunning for us but we are going to be prepared and with God, all things are possible.”
Additionally, he confirmed the return of their Coach, Vurlon Mills, while also divulging that the likes of Jeremy Garrett and Curtez Kellman, who were part of their last championship team, will be assisting.
“Vurlon Mills is definitely there. We’re going to be having also Jeremy Garrett, Curtez Kellman, to also work along with Vurlon,” Chase said about the inclusion of the former Chase’s Academy players.
Quizzed about what he hopes to achieve with the inclusion of the duo in the team’s management, Chase responded, “I know in the case of Jeremy he has been our most successful captain. Jeremy’s brilliant, he understands the game as a young man and I’m hoping his knowledge could pass on to the guys. He was placed in that position before, he knows what it takes to win, the pressure that comes with it and I think he’s going to be an asset, a motivator, a mentor for our players.”
The Digicel tournament is set to kick off at various locations, including the Ministry of Education (MoE) and National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Grounds on Saturday, June 24. (Jemima Holmes)