ALLAN MORRIS' DEDICATION TO SPORTS
JUMP BALL No. 134(Part II). By Arlington James
Part I of the article began presenting Allan Morris' involvement in basketball. The article concludes below.
ALLAN THE DEFENSIVE GUARD (Ctd): With close to three decades serving as a referee, Allan has had many officiating partners, including but not limited to Al, Arlington, Augustus, Ayoub, Bernard, Clayboy, Donald, Dr. James, Gary, Harold, Henderson, Murdock, Leroy, McClean, McDonald, Perry, Russell and many others. And following the unfortunate dissolution of DBOA in the late 1990s, Allan served in the unofficial capacity of 'Referees' Coordinator on the DABA Executive until 2017 (Hurricane Maria year).
Allan also played important roles in the Windward Islands Schools Games (WISG) basketball segments when these Games were staged in Dominica. He first officiated in the 1999 Games and continued performing with distinction in subsequent editions of WISG hosted by Dominica every four years. He also coordinated the basketball referees for WISG/Dominica. He was a liaison between the WISG Tournament Committee and the team coaches.
Adding more feathers to Allan's basketball cap, with his knowledge of the sport of basketball and the laws of the game, coupled with his vast experience as a referee, he served as coordinator for training sessions for officials organized by the basketball committees of Pichelin, Grand Bay, Portsmouth, St. Joseph, and for referees from the national league and the Schools' League.
Regarding moving towards certification as a basketball official, Allan participated in a FIBA Certified Referees Course in St. Kitts. Unfortunately, he was unsuccessful and lamented that although he "aced" the exam in the course's theoretical component, a hamstring injury sustained while attending the course severely hampered his performance during the practical examination.
ALLAN ON THE TRACK: Allan was a long-distance runner who represented St. Mary's Academy in 400, 800, 1500 and 3,000 metres races in the Secondary Schools Athletics Meet organized by the Sports Division. As an adult, he was a founding member of the Olympians Athletics Club and proudly represented his Club in national athletics meets.
Additionally, Allan is a Certified Level One Athletics Coach.
ALLAN THE CRICKETER: Allan's cricketing career began while attending secondary school when he represented St. Mary's Academy and St. Mary's Academy Smatians mainly as a spin-bowler in the Dominica Cricket Association (DCA) Intermediate League. After graduating from SMA, he went on to play with Renegades in DCA's Division I League.
Apart from playing, Allan also umpired Schools Leagues games and was even approached by Billy Doctrove, who ultimately served on the Elite Panel of the International Cricket Council Umpires, to join the Dominica Cricket Umpires Association, but he did not take up that challenge.
Morris' bundle of cricketing energies also saw him coaching the Goodwill Primary School Team and the Goodwill Secondary School Team and directing the Clifton Dupigny Community College and Dominica State College teams to eight championships.
Allan also coached the Dominica National Softball Cricket Association Team and the Tertiary Learning Institute (TLI) team, which comprised players from state or community colleges in Antigua, Dominica, Grenada, St. Lucia and St. Vincent. He also coached the TLI Selection Team for a match versus the West Indies Masters Team in Grenada.
ALLAN ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD: Allan, as he was best known in the football arena, was involved in four areas of football: playing, coaching, officiating and administration.
He represented St. Mary's Academy in the Sports Division Secondary Schools Football League, and upon graduating from high school, played with Potters Football Club in the Intermediate, All-Island and Premier Leagues of the Dominica Football Association (DFA). As a lecturer at the CDCC and DSC and a Certified FIFA Level One Football Coach, Morris coached the college's team in the Sports Division Under-20 Football League.
However, Allan is best known in football circles as a match official. He first officiated in the Pottersville Football League and the Schools League before accepting an invitation to join the Dominica Football Referees Association (DFRA) in 1994 or 1995, where he served as a FIFA Assistant Referee from 1997 through 2007. He also served the DFRA as General Secretary for three terms and was the proud recipient of DFRA's Football Referee of the Year Award on four occasions.
Furthermore, Allan's disciplinarian attitude allowed him to be represented by the Football Referees' Association on DFA's Disciplinary Committee.
NETBALL COACH MR. MORRIS: Allan's involvement in netball was limited only to coaching the Dominica State College Team in the Sports Division Under-20 Netball League. And displaying his characteristic smile, he revealed having coached his team to back-to-back championships, against Portsmouth Secondary School (PSS), much to the chagrin of their opponents!
REMARKS: Jump Ball wishes player, coach, referee, administrator and trainer Allan Morris all the best in his endeavours.