WESTERN BUREAU:

At age 16, St James High School daCosta Cup football star Allan Ottey is already a household name in Jamaica. He builds on the legacy of another illustrious athlete from western Jamaica, Merlene Ottey, who brought fame to the island on the running track.

Allan is a product of Peace View, a small inner-city district sandwiched between Canterbury and Norwood, arguably the two toughest neighbourhoods in Montego Bay. The schoolboy was instrumental in St James High School's historic 2008 daCosta Cup and Ben Francis KO success.

"Allan is a well-organised and disciplined young man who knows what he is all about," said Jeannette Solomon, a vice-principal at St James High. "He has not allowed fame to get to his head ... . I wish we had more students like him."

Antisocial attributes

Despite being from a rough neighbourhood, Ottey's parents, Opal Ottey and her husband, Allan Sr, never allowed him the time or space to adopt the destabilising antisocial attributes some of his peers have embraced.

"He (Ottey) grew up in the church and we always enforced strong family values at home," said Mrs Ottey. "While we encourage his participation in sports, he has to do his schoolwork as well ... . He knows that life is more than sports."

According to Mrs Ottey, Allan's talent was first spotted at the Chetwood Memorial Primary School, where he represented the institution in football, athletics, cricket and tennis.

"Despite his heavy involvement in sports, his lessons did not suffer because we worked closely with his teachers to ensure that he did his schoolwork," Mrs Ottey said. "Between home, school and church, we kept him grounded and focused."

Bucknor's inspiration

At age 12, Ottey also fell under the influence of a major role model in elite panel cricket umpire and former FIFA referee Steve Bucknor, who recruited him to his youth football academy which offers specialised training to up-and-coming stars.

"Mr Bucknor is a man who demands the highest standard from the youngsters at the academy," said Mrs Ottey. "He (Bucknor) not only teaches them to be good footballers, but also to be good gentlemen, so Allan has also benefited from that experience."

He emerged from the 2008 schoolboy season as a new star player, having scored some 26 goals, which won him the Golden Boot Award - an accolade reserved for the top goalscorer. Ottey, who was also invited to the national Under-20 team, is now the pride of Peace View.

"I believe we have prepared him well, so we know he will not allow himself to get distracted by all the attention he has been getting," said Mrs Ottey. "We subscribe to the view that you should train up a child properly and he will not let you down."

adrian.frater@gleanerjm.com