Just over a year ago, Yardie Sports featured referee Veralton Nembhard, who had just made history by being the youngest person to take charge of a DaCosta Cup finals. That game was played between Glenmuir High School and St. Elizabeth Technical High School.
Just over a year ago, Yardie Sports featured referee Veralton Nembhard, who had just made history by being the youngest person to take charge of a DaCosta Cup finals. That game was played between Glenmuir High School and St. Elizabeth Technical High School.
Such was his performance in that game that both television commentators had to proclaim the good job he had done, while being almost invisible as the game flowed without incident, even during extra time. Glenmuir would go on to take the title under the guidance of veteran coach Jackie Walters.
Following on his performances in the School Boy football competitions last year he went on to do very good work in the local club leagues including the Red Stripe Premier League.
A year on and Nembhard continues to set new records as he seeks to establish himself among his peers. Now a graduate of the University of the West Indies where he completed his first degree in Psychology, the 24 year old became the first person to take charge of the DaCosta Cup finals two years in a row. This is surely a testament to how well he has been performing in the middle.
As expected, his performance in this year’s final was just as flawless as last year and did not go unnoticed by the television commentators yet again who, who waxed eloquently about Nembhard’s handling of the game.
Acknowledging that he is still relatively young in the business, the Manchester United fan, kept up to speed by doing a refreshers course and a members associations course to ensure that he kept his finger on the pulse of all the new happenings in his profession during the course of the year 2013.
“I did the courses this year to learn new things that I could apply in games to improve my performances. I knew I would gain valuable insight and it would prove to be a valuable experience for me and I can say with certainty that it has,” he commented.
“I feel a lot more confident about my performances now and I will continue to stay on top of new happenings in my field, so that I will always be current.”
Some of the games Nembhard have done this year include the St. James Captain’s Bakery Knock Out Final between Montego Bay United and Reggae Youth FC and the Premier League play-off game between Volvo United and Rivoli United at Drax Hall.
The game between Volvo and Rivoli stands out in the memory for the Taylorite, because as he puts it, “Both teams were playing like Premier League teams, very fast paced and both teams passed the ball well. The fans played a huge part in the game as well, creating an incredible atmosphere for football to be played in.”
“Because I played in the DaCosta Cup, the schoolboy season is always special to me and I really look forward to it. The Manning Cup semifinal game between Jamaica College and Excelsior High at the National Stadium was a great experience for me but the stand-out game has to be the DaCosta Cup final. I was shocked because I never knew it was possible to get back to back finals. I was so excited and honoured that I was chosen to do it,”
“At the end of the 90 minutes I felt great because I knew I did the game to the best of my ability and all the feedback I got was positive” the graduate of Cornwall College beamed.
“It’s fair to say that following on from last year, 2013 has been a good year for me as well and to be selected Referee of the Year for St. James at the end of it all is the Jewel in the crown for the year. I plan to remain humble and focused going into 2014, improving on my performances even further and hopefully being fast tracked to the Elite panel in the not too distant future,” the proud dad of a six month old baby boy explained.
Yardie Sports will continue to track the progress of Veralton Nembhard, who clearly still has being a FIFA referee at the top of his agenda.
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