Alumni News

In the Spotlight!! - Wayne Morris

This month’s alumni profile is none other than the great Wayne “Blacka Pearl” Morris. One of the original soldiers from the early eighties for Pepsi and Colts football, and also one of the true warriors on the track and field team, he left the island in the mid eighties, and we all lost touch. We even heard rumors that he had met his demise. However, this month, this true Kingston College man speaks in his own words. It is akin to hearing from the dead!!!!!!!! Read and understand why Kingston College will forever be burnished on our minds and souls, and will always give us memories to overcome challenges as we matriculate through this thing called LIFE.

Phantom of the Shadows!!!!!!

Life at K.C. was never a bed of roses, not as far as I could see. When I completed Wolmers Prep School and gained my common entrance passes to attend Kingston College, life was guaranteed never to be the same. I am the younger brother of the late, great Michael “Bully Cocks” Morris aka “Iron Man”. He had already set a blistering pace for me to follow at K.C. as both student and athlete. His accomplishments are still legendary. Everyone at K.C. and the surrounding community knew him and what he did while in school.

However, it did not take long for me to establish my own individual sort of brand not only at K.C. but also throughout the high school athletic circuit. My forte is football, “I love this game”. My major inspiration comes from the great Pele and English division one football. I followed football games from around the world and incorporated much of what I saw into my own training routines and game attitudes. Wolmers Prep established the foundation for what I like to call a wonderful run doing what I enjoyed the most. Mr. Mabrico Ventura, Sr. and Mr. Earl Moore were very influential on my early life in football at Wolmers Prep. Their impressions and encouragement lead me to the following:

The great bodywork instructions from Mr. Goldsmith are a testimony to my physique today. At the time the weight training was extremely difficult, and lifting those pieces of “old iron” seemed ridiculous. However, like everything else at Kingston College it was preparing me for the future in which I now live. These are just a few of the people at K.C. that helped to mold me in the person I am today.

I wanted to take time to mention that the guys from my time at K.C. are all winners; not only at K.C., but also from our days at Wolmers Prep. Mabrico Ventura, Jr. and David Mais are two of my life long friends. It took migrating to the U.S. to briefly separate us. Thanks to Mabricio the “Link Up Man” we are able to again link up now and then. The Penn Relays annual gathering is truly a blessing to me, because it affords me the opportunity to learn what is going on in everyone’s life.

Coach George Thompson has been the single greatest influence over my athletic career. He always had a word of wisdom and encouragement that made me just want to lift my game a little higher. His words usually drove directly home to the points of my faults, and upon taking his advice improvements were realized almost instantly. I take those moments when he would encourage me or said that he liked the fact that I tried even if I was not going to make it, that changed the entire outcome.

Kingston College for me is more that my high school, it is the place I came to know many wonderful people. Migrating to the US cut short my chance to be on the winning Manning Cup team of 1985. This I must admit was my most disappointing moment in my K.C. history. However, I cherish the glorious victories we shared during my time at K.C.

Life on the other hand prepared me in its own way and molded me for what was yet to come. I had to adjust and fit to the circumstances that I was faced with. Today, I am the father of four children, Nataki, Najee, Neko, and Nakara. I work with a large telecom firm in Manhattan and currently own a partnership along with the love of my life, Anna Krapivina, in a web design and IT support Services Firm. I am somewhat of a late bloomer because I am currently enrolled at NYU studying for a Bachelor’s degree. I finally decided that I needed to support my 20 plus year of hands on IT knowledge with a degree.

Fortis for life! You can fall, but never ever yield!

A Final Word:

Wayne appears to be somewhat modest in his written biography, but many of us remember a true Kingston College man who was always willing to help us out. We never had to wonder where his heart lies. Nothing could have happened to a “College Man” and Wayne was not there to defend it. He mentioned the brawl in the Colts match at the Melbourne Campus. Well he was in the thick of that two defending his teammates. We all remember when Christopher “Chippa” Morgan of St. Georges College swung at David “Rambo” McCrea, and it was on. The stands from both teams emptied, and right there on the middle of the cricket pitch it was a slugfest with each team supporters not letting the other “punk” them.

This might seem that we are glorifying what happened, but from that day, many of us who are still close friends from that debacle can look back to that event and know that we were never going to let anyone simply think that they can hit our “brother” and we take it lightly. If you hit one, you have to hit us all. That is the spirit that binds us even to this day. If one is hurting, we try to comfort him. If one is in need, we try to help with that need. None of us are above the circumstances that come against us, but together we can overcome it.

As Wayne so rightly stated, the Brave May Fall, but Never Yield. Drop Wayne an email to big him up at admin@nattechconsulting.com or kwametrade@yahoo.com

 

Site Map | Policy and Terms