GONE TOO SOON FOR REAL

Foote gone too soon

Members of the Holy Trinity High School Football Team carries the casket bearing the body of their teammate, Jordan Foote, at the end of the funeral service at Arnold Road Seventh Day Adventist Church in Kingston on Sunday.
Popular schoolboy footballer, Jordan ‘Reddo’ Foote was yesterday remembered as an inspiring and promising midfield maestro who captured the hearts of thousands and was destined for greatness.
The life of the bright-eyed 18-year-old student of Holy Trinity High School was cut short after he lost the battle with bone cancer at the University Hospital of the West Indies in St Andrew on March 5, 2016. The young man was diagnosed with the dreaded disease last October and in December his left leg was amputated, but apparently already too late.
Yesterday mourners overflowed the Arnold Road Seventh-day Adventist Church in Kingston to pay their final respects to Foote. From the glowing tributes that were delivered it was clear that the young man had left an indelible mark.
Assistant Superintendent of Police Coleridge Minto, director, safety and security in school in the Education Ministry, said: “Jordan, from all reports, was a young man who was loved by his peers, his team, his school and Jamaicans all over this country, even some who did not know him. Jordan certainly captured the hearts of thousands and, as a consequence, his passing is not just a loss to his family but a loss to his school.”
Jordan’s brother, Ryan, who looks like an older version of the young star, was a picture of grief, but held his composure long enough to speak glowingly of his brother.
“Jordan was my prized possession who as a little bro I looked up to in the football world,” he said. “I remember watching him in the Lime Super Cup final in 2014, when they were playing against Jamaica College.”
Ryan said his brother and his team were a bit unsettled in the first half of the game and he called his brother and told him, “You have to deal with this.”
“Mi memba him, deh on the left side going down and the ball roll towards him and I said to my friend ‘watch this, look at him’,” he said. “One flick and the whole crowd went wild that Saturday evening. It was so amazing to watch. I will always remember that moment, one of the best moments of my life. I love my little bro, words can’t explain,” he added before tearing up.
Jordan’s coach, who was like a father to the young man, described Foote as “cool, calm, composed, reflective, and introspective”, recalling his “electrifying dribbling skills and excellent knowledge of the game” which assisted his team to the knockout rounds of the Manning Cup and the finals of the Lime Super Cup.
Principal of Holy Trinity High, Margaret Brissett- Bolt recalled that an overseas scout had come to her school straight from the airport, saying that he wanted “number 10”.

“Some of you call him Reddo, but for me he was my number 10,” she said. “Jordan and his team put us on the map as football players.”
For his part, Captain Horace Burrell, Jamaica Footbal Federation president, stopped at the funeral for a few minutes before leaving for Costa Rica to express sadness at Foote’s passing and offered condolence to his family, peers, fans, and members of the football fraternity.
“Gone too soon. I think God has his plan while men have their plans. Having lost a son, I believe I understand how it feels,” he said.
Foote, who was laid to rest at the Dovecot Memorial Park in St Catherine, is survived by his mother Nadine Sutherland, father, Cavell Foote, four brothers and a sister, other relatives and friends.