Vassell Reynolds appointed technical director at St Catherine High

Vassell Reynolds, one of Jamaica’s leading schoolboy football coaches, has taken over as technical director at St Catherine High School, replacing Anthony Patrick following his departure from Kingston College.

Reynolds brings a decorated record to the Spanish Town-based programme. He guided Kingston College to the Manning Cup in 2024 and previously led Ruseas High to the daCosta Cup in 2017, a combination achieved by few coaches in schoolboy football. His résumé also includes the 2015 Walker Cup with Wolmer’s Boys and the all-island Flow Super Cup in 2016.

At St Catherine High, Reynolds will now be expected to chase the Manning Cup title for a school he helped beat in the 2024 final, when Kingston College defeated them 3-1.

“The feeling is great. The offer to take over a programme of this magnitude is a clear recognition of my hard work and accomplishments over the years,” Reynolds told the Jamaica Observer.

“St Catherine High has been one of the most consistent performers over the past five to six years at the Manning Cup level under the leadership of coach Anthony Patrick and his support staff. I’m aware of the work and structure Patrick implemented, and I’ll use my experience to build on that and take the programme to the next level,” he added.

Reynolds said his new post will require him to oversee the full football structure at the school, which he described as being in a rebuilding phase.

“My role as a technical director will be to direct the overall football programme, which is at a rebuilding stage. There will be a great emphasis on building a solid youth system, which will give us the kind of foundation to perform well at all levels and to aid with the transition from one age group to the other,” he explained.

He said player development will also focus on attitude, technical ability and the mentality needed to compete at a high standard.

“Having won the Walker Cup multiple times, the overall aim is to add more success to the school, including the elusive Manning Cup title,” said Reynolds.

Reynolds joined Kingston College in 2023 at a difficult point for the programme, then led the Famed Purples to both the Manning Cup and Olivier Shield titles in 2024. His three-year contract was not extended after the 2025 season.

“My three-year stint at Kingston College was a gratifying one. I’ve left the programme in a better position compared to where it was when I started. The results of my role as the technical director of the entire programme is there to be seen . I’ve created and built my own legacy at KC. I’ve encountered many challenges, to which I had to navigate. I’ll definitely be better off for the experience. Life lessons were learnt that will help me in my future endeavours,” said Reynolds.