Jason 'Coach J' Mollison
"When I die I want to be a legend! I will be legendary for creating Legends!" - Coach J
Jason “Coach J” Mollison has been coaching track and field for more than 20 years. His coaching career started at Paul Robeson High School in Brooklyn, New York. “Academic based athletic success” and the “expectation of excellence” are the core philosophies that Coach J instills in all of his athletes. Coach J reinforces the fact that excellence is not a concentrated attribute, instead it must be displayed across all aspects of one’s life. To reach the standard of excellence expected by Coach J, a person must be reflective, resilient, compassionate, and intrinsically motivated to maximize their potential athletically, socially, and academically.
Under his tutelage, several student athletes have gone on to win athletic college scholarships and have gone on to become stellar members of their respective communities.
While at Paul Robeson, Coach J coached several city champions in field events and pentathlon. Most notably was Oneil Sandiford who won the Penn Relays high jump in 2010. Under Coach J’s leadership, PSAL (Public School Athletic League) top 10 all time marks were achieved in the high jump and the pentathlon by athletes that he coached.
In 2011 Coach J moved on to take over as head coach at Franklin K Lane High School also in Brooklyn. At the time, Lane was a new team that was in need of establishing an identity and a winning culture. After 4 years, Lane became one of the premier sprint and hurdle programs in New York State. SInce 2015, two athletes won the PSAL City Championship Most outstanding athlete award, 4 athletes went on to win athletes scholarships (University of Florida, University of Southern Illinois, University of Nebraska, Georgian Court University), the Lane Shuttle Hurdle relay team ran the 3rd fastest time in PSAL history and won All American Honors, and the 400 meter hurdles at the State Championship included a Lane athlete 6 out of the last 7 times the event was held. (covid took away 2020 and 2021 meets) The PSAL record books were also re-written with 3 Lane athletes running top 15 times in the PSAL history!
Also while at Lane, Coach J coached football for a few seasons. During his first year as the head football coach for the Franklin K Lane Nights, he led the team to an undefeated season which culminated in winning the PSAL City Championship and him being named the Gatorade Coach of the Year and New York Jets coach of the year. Despite the amazing athletic year the football team had, Coach J’s proudest moment for that team was when it was revealed that 4 athletes from the team won all city Academic Honors and the overall teams academic average was an amazing 88% Franklin K Lane services the bottom third of New York City students academically and financially so being able to produce academic success and athletic success despite the social challenges was right in line with Coach J’s “Expectation of Excellence!”
Neil Harrison - Head Coach Jamaica College
“Success comes to those who dedicate everything to their passion in life. To be successful, it is also very important to be humble and never let fame or money travel to your head.” These words by A. R. Rahman aptly describes Neil Harrison, as he is undoubtedly passionate about sports and with all his accomplishments his humility is the first thing one recognizes about him. Coach Harrison has achieved great personal success and contributed to the development of football as well as track and field at both the school and national levels. He is an accomplished coach who has to his credit tenures at Clarendon College, Munro College, St. George’s College and Kingston College. At each of these institutions Coach Harrison made an indelible mark in the Physical Education departments and the sports programmes. He was instrumental in Clarendon College’s DaCosta Cup advancement to the semi-finals in 1991, this was the same for Munro while he coached them from 1997-2003. He led the Sports Department at St. George’s College from 1992-97. In addition, he coached at Kingston College from 2016-2018 who were runners up in the Issa Grace Boys and Girls Championship. At this point it should be noted that he coached Akeem Bloomfield, the first school boy to run sub 45. At his new home Jamaica College, he continues to make strides as they were successful in carrying home the winner’s title for the ISSA Grace Boys and Girls Championships in 2021. Every team Coach Harrison has coached is better for his involvement with them.
His talent to nurture young athletes has not gone unnoticed by those responsible for the national Athletics programmes in Jamaica. Consequently, Coach Harrison has been given numerous assignments with the national teams. Among them are: sprint coach at the World Junior Championships in Poland in 2017, Kenya in 2021 and the recently concluded Games in Colombia. Coach and Head at the Carifta Games in 2001-2003 and 2014 respectively. These and other achievements have allowed Neil Harrison to command the respect of his colleagues. He was the recipient of the outstanding coaches’ award from the Coaches Association of Jamaica as well as the best Western coaches’ award for outstanding coaching in track and field during 1991-2000.
Finally, he holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and a Diploma in Education from G. C. Foster College, but he is more than intellectually smart, he has an inner personal smart, a strong work ethic that makes him determined to get things done and impact lives wherever he goes. Most importantly, he focuses more on the team he is a part of than himself and that has been the secret to his success.