From goalkeeping gloves to hockey gear

DURING HIS days playing football in high school, Giovanni Gordon was one of the many standout players for serial Manning Cup winners Jamaica College (JC).

He was arguably the best shot-stopper at that time and was expected to go on to represent Jamaica at the highest level in the sport.

In fact, throughout JC’s successful 2007 Manning Cup campaign, Gordon was often compared to legendary Jamaican goalkeeper Aaron Lawrence by his peers due to his bravery and athleticism between the posts.

However, despite a promising future in football, the now 34-year-old Gordon decided on a different career path – field hockey – where he has also excelled, first, as a player, representing his alma mater, and secondly, since 2015, as a professional coach.

AMBASSADOR HOPES

Gordon, who is now coaching field hockey at Severn High School in Maryland, USA, says he is hoping to become an ambassador for the development of the sport in Jamaica.

“Field hockey is a sport that if developed properly, can help a lot of young kids. It is a very intelligent sport, very disciplined, and can be another avenue for income for the many talented Jamaican kids,” said Gordon.

“I want to lead the charge for a serious push to develop the sport in Jamaica because while it exists today, the level it is at is not what I like,” he said.

Gordon’s sojourn into field hockey began in high school, where he won three titles (under-16, and under-19, twice) with JC, shortly before he was called to represent Jamaica at the senior level.

“That was one of the reasons it kind of pushed me into hockey after high school because with football, I ended up playing for the wrong club and never got the love like had for it in high school. Then I ended up getting a contract to go play hockey overseas,” recalled the former JC man.

Gordon holds a record of 60 wins, 10 draws, and 38 losses as a high school field hockey coach.

His Severn High recently lost 2-1 to St Mary in the Conference A final, the fifth most-competitive league for high-school girls in field hockey in the US. It was also the first time that the school had played in a final since 2007.

As a player, representing the New York Islanders Hockey Club, Gordon won the New York Field Association League in 2022.

THREE CONSECUTIVE WINS

His club has also won the Atlanta Cup three consecutive times, in 2018, 2019, and 2020.

He has also won the US Club Championship while on loan to DC Dragons Club in 2021.

Gordon also shared that he has recently launch a field hockey kit brand, “GR7”, which is geared at helping young players.

“Field hockey is a very expensive sport, so it is kind of tough for the youth to get equipment – shoes, sticks, and such. So I am using this brand to help provide the right equipment for young talents so they can get to learn and play the game the right way,” he said.

He says that the sport, despite not being one of the traditional big three – track and field, cricket, and football – still has a place among Jamaicans.

“I just played a game for the national team at age 33. I don’t think I should be making a Jamaica national team at that age and not because I am old and can’t move. It’s because we don’t have any more talented people that are pushing me out of the team. But I think players like us, who are living overseas, are the key to making the sport lively again. One of the ways to do that is to get the clubs there structured and find a way to make the sport enticing at the high school level.”

“I am trying to keep a tournament next year, where each overseas team I invite, their criteria are going to be to bring 20 old sticks and 50 old balls to enter the tournament, along with an entry fee. So that, at least, I get to give back to each club,” said Gordon.

Though he has hung up his goalkeeping gloves, Gordon says he still tries to watch as many high-school football games, while stating that the level of play has increased steadily over the years since his playing days.

“You have Junior Flemmings, who came, like, four or five years after I left. I think he was a real dominant force in the league. Another one is Cordel Benbow, who was a real good kid also. Then you have ‘Whisper’ (Dujuan Richards). I watch him damage JC last year when he was at Kingston College. But it is really good to watch all these kids play at this level,” he said.