From the parish of St. Thomas, Morant Bay in particular, Jerry was brought up by his football family led by Dad Cudjoe, uncle Michael ‘The Professor’, brother Kevin, sister Dianne, amongst others. He emerged as a real gem that brought vision, accuracy and a skillset worth watching to the game at St. Thomas Technical High School.
Probably it was just a coincidence or destiny that one good left-footer should precede another as with Ricardo ‘Bibi’ Gardner and Jermaine Hue.
The best Under 14 HVFC team ever seen was with these two players, another ‘lefty’ called Robert ‘Little Bebe’ Scarlett, plus Khareem ‘Niche’ Cooke and Kirk ‘Scarry’ Williams to name a few. Magical touches, passes and free-flowing style at an early age was too good to be true.
After making his debut at the senior level in 1998, he was voted the Premier League Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1999, and was rated as one of the best players in the league for a long time. One of the very few elite HVFC and Jamaican players who reigned as four Premier League, five islandwide & KSAFA knockouts, and two-time Caribbean Football Club (CFU) Club Championship titles and also played in the two CONCACAF Club Leagues.
Twenty-three years at Harbour View Football club speaks for itself: championship titles (locally and regionally), trophies, and awards while playing for the Reggae Boyz and two short seasons overseas. He played at Major League Soccer (MLS) professional club Kansas City Wizards, and at Mjallby in Sweden as well as one season with W Connection in Trinidad and Tobago.
He scored thirty-four (34) goals for HVFC’s senior team and many more at the junior level, while scorching twelve (12) goals for Jamaica’s national team, the Reggae Boyz, and one (1) at Mjallby in Sweden.
He has withstood the test of time and made his return to the pitch on May 7th, 2014 after the unfortunate stain of the banned substance in the Reggae Boyz FIFA World Cup qualifier in Honduras imposed a nine-month sanction. He fought that public battle manfully and won respect for standing up for himself, defending the principle of natural justice and gained the right to play again in the league through the courts.
At the end of the 2015 season, having linked up once again with Ricardo Gardner (now as a Coach), his football life cycle is probably completed.
Approaching his 37th birthday on June 15th, he walks away proudly on his own terms to start a new chapter in his life in the USA, with his family and furthering his coaching qualification.
Thank you for playing the beautiful game, the way it should be.