Lloyd Morgan ... a mainstay at Boys' Town for decades. - Photo by Anthony Foster

The Institute of Sports (Insports) recently recognised 66-year-old Lloyd 'Respic' Morgan for 36 years of ongoing service to the organisation.

Morgan joined the Social Development Commission (SDC) in 1973 before moving to the Social Development Division (SDD) in 1975. The SDD was then merged with National Sports in 1978 and was renamed INSPORTS.

Morgan is very happy that he is being recognised while he is still alive.

"It makes me feel good, because most times you are recognised when you die," Morgan said.

"I am thankful to work with INSPORTS because it allows me to do what I want to do. It allows me to change a lot of lives," he added.

Morgan, who is still affiliated with the Boys' Town club, represented them in Senior Cup cricket as well as Division One football. He also made national appearances in both sports.

national call-up

Morgan started playing football for Boys' Town as a goalkeeper at age 15, but stopped playing prematurely in 1977 due to the famous colour clash.

"In a major final in 1977 between Arnett Gardens and Boys' Town, they took off our red and put us in green. We were beaten and threatened because they branded us as Labourites," Morgan said.

"So I decided to stop playing because I can't be playing football to provide entertainment and be nervous, but I continued playing cricket," he added.

He got his first national call-up for the under-19 football team, which was coached by Brazilian Anthony Taffy. The team comprised high school students with Morgan being the only exception. They toured Guatemala in 1963, where they played five games: winning two, losing two and drawing one.

Morgan later got his first national cricket call-up in 1969 as an all-rounder. The 1969 team was the first Jamaican cricket team to win a major trophy, when they won the then Shell Shield.

He was called up to Jamaica's senior football team in the same year he returned from the cricket competition and played in a CONCACAF tournament, which was held in Costa Rica.

couching experience

Morgan made several other appearances for both the national football and cricket teams from 1969 through to 1973, when he started working with SDC and was in charge of sports and coaching.

In 1975, he was sent on a coaching course in Mexico and a number of teams benefited from his expertise upon his return to the island. He did football coaching with teams such as Boys' Town, Maverley-Hughenden, Dunha-ney Park and at Exed Community College. Morgan also guided teams in cricket such as Boys' Town, Exed Community College and Camperdown, with whom he won the Tappin Cup KO competition.

Morgan is still contributing to the development of sports in his role as a sports officer with Insports, responsible for organising, coaching and coordinating sports.

His son, Marvin Morgan, represents Boys' Town in the Digicel Premier League and his grandson, who bears the same name, currently represents St George's College in the ISSA/Pepsi/ Digicel Manning Cup competition and has so far scored 10 goals, including two in the Walker Cup KO.