Heard about this on net radio. Inspiring read. Has anyone seen him play before?
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fromthe jamaica football federation website.
FROM PRISON TO PREMIERSHIP THE LIFE OF JAMIE LAWRENCE By Ron Shillingford
WHEN JAMIE Lawrence (pictured) was sentenced to four years jail for robbery back in 1990 who would have thought that within a few years he would be playing in the Premiership?
At the time he was already 20 and not attached to a professional club, so diminishing his chances of any sort of pro career, and with his career choices diminishing with every brush with the law, his future looked bleak.
But his talent as a footballer became very evident whilst behind bars. On his release the south Londoner had trials of a different kind. He impressed all that watched him play before being offered his big chance to start a new career in professional football.
Lawrence spent most of the Nineties playing at the top level, then Jamaica came calling. The Reggae Boyz needed a strong, quick, tough tackling, mid-fielder. He fitted the bill perfectly.
On international duty Lawrence travelled to many countries around the world, showing off his no-nonsense style which finds him very much in demand today, even though he is now considered to be veteran at 35. He also impressed in a friendly against the mighty Brazil two years ago, subduing the inimitable Ronaldo with aplomb.
A much-travelled player, recent stints have included Grimsby, Wigan, Walsall and Bradford. Division One side Brentford is the latest club to employ his services, but there are several clubs in the UK and abroad interested in offering Lawrence an extension to his playing career. He is still picked for Jamaican internationals as well.
Lawrence’s wholehearted commitment has always endeared him to team-mates, managers, fans and even opponents alike. He won awards as player of the year at Bradford City and Player of the World Cup Campaign 2002 for Jamaica. Not bad for a former bad boy!
It’s no wonder his former manager at Wigan, Paul Jewell, once said when Lawrence arrived at the club: ‘Jamie is a bit flamboyant but on the pitch he gives everything. He is full of energy and he’ll even chase the waste paper! I know what he can do from my Bradford days and I’m sure we can get the best out of him.
‘I agreed to let another player leave providing we got cover and it was suggested Jamie came in exchange. Jamie turned up for his first day’s training at Wigan in sunglasses. I’m not quite sure where he had come from but there was certainly no sunshine in Wigan!’
Lawrence is philosophical about his life from prison to the Premiership.
He says: ‘I can’t blame any of my bad stuff on other people. My mum and dad went back to Jamaica when I was 17 and suddenly I was in the big wide world with nothing. So I went and lived with my sister in Croydon. She’d just had a child and neither of us had much money; the easiest way for me to survive was through crime. I’d started playing football when I was only three. My parents encouraged me but, because there were eight of us, they worked hard and their time was limited. Although I was always involved with local teams around Battersea, I never attracted the interest of a professional club.
‘Just after my parents left this country, I was arrested for the first time. A friend and I were caught driving a car stolen. From here, I went steadily downhill and, when I was 19, I was sent to prison for theft, assault and numerous robberies.
‘I went to Feltham young offenders institute. Although I was scared, many of my friends were there. That made it easier. I went to the gym every day, I worked out in my cell, I did some courses, and I played football constantly because I still believed I could make it.
‘I spent a year there. Did I think about what I’d done? Being honest, most of my crimes were against people like myself - never against women or old people - and so I thought they deserved what they got.
‘I was released a month before my 21st birthday and, just six weeks later, I was back in trouble. This was with a guy I’d had problems with over the years, He was having a go at a friend of mine so I beat him up, then robbed him.
‘He didn’t go to the police immediately. Instead, he went around telling everyone he was going to kill me. I waited for him one day and said: "I heard you were after me?" He turned and ran off and that was when he got the police involved.
‘What happened next was startling. The friend, whom I’d stuck up for, did a deal with the police. He agreed to give evidence against me in return for being let off. I went on the run for six weeks, hiding out at my sister’s. ‘It wasn’t fair on her and when you’re in hiding the only way of earning is to commit more crime. Also, I still wanted to make it as a footballer.
‘The first time I’d gone to prison my parents did not find out but while I was on remand, my mother came over from Jamaica. She visited me and said, "Son, why are you doing this to me?" She began to cry, which made me cry as well - the only time I cried through all of this.
‘At the trial, my so-called best friend stood in the dock and spoke against me. I got four years for robbery with violence, and was sent to the Isle of Wight. There, unlike in young offenders’ institutions, men are not trying to prove themselves, even if I did have one problem early on with someone who threatened me. I beat him up and had no more trouble after that.
‘Even at this stage, I knew I could make it as a footballer. Then something happened that convinced me it was meant to be. On Boxing Day 1993, I played for the prison against a semi-professional team, Cowes Sports. I scored two goals and then their manager asked the prisoner governor if I could play for them.
‘I took it from there. For the first month or so I played against teams on the island and became a bit of a local celebrity. I continued playing well and professional clubs started to watch me. This was my big opportunity, but I was never nervous. Nervous, for me, is standing in a courtroom waiting to be sentenced.
‘I was released in 1993 after 26 months inside. Ninety days later I went up to Sunderland for a trial and managed to do well enough for Terry Butcher [then Sunderland’s manager] to offer me a one-year contract.
‘It was difficult to take in. I signed on the Friday and on the Sunday appeared as a substitute in an away game at Middlesbrough. They played Jailhouse Rock on the PA as I warmed up, which made me laugh. To come on as a substitute, to have the chance actually to play professionally, was an amazing experience.
‘The following Tuesday, in front of 18,000 at Roker Park, I played from the start. I was shaky at first but soon settled down. When I came off, I received a standing ovation.
‘It was unbelievable. I’d gone from one extreme to another. Now, a decade later, I’ve appeared in more than 250 matches, won the Littlewoods Cup with Leicester, and have 13 caps for Jamaica. If it were not for prison, I would never have made it as a professional footballer.
‘When I am finished, I’d like to work in the community with young people. I’d like to use my experience to show them that, if you get into trouble as a young person, your life is not necessarily over. You can always fight back and make something of your life.’
The life of Jamie Lawrence will soon be featured in a book, which will provide huge inspiration to many young-sters across the world.
========================================
fromthe jamaica football federation website.
FROM PRISON TO PREMIERSHIP THE LIFE OF JAMIE LAWRENCE By Ron Shillingford
At the time he was already 20 and not attached to a professional club, so diminishing his chances of any sort of pro career, and with his career choices diminishing with every brush with the law, his future looked bleak.
But his talent as a footballer became very evident whilst behind bars. On his release the south Londoner had trials of a different kind. He impressed all that watched him play before being offered his big chance to start a new career in professional football.
Lawrence spent most of the Nineties playing at the top level, then Jamaica came calling. The Reggae Boyz needed a strong, quick, tough tackling, mid-fielder. He fitted the bill perfectly.
On international duty Lawrence travelled to many countries around the world, showing off his no-nonsense style which finds him very much in demand today, even though he is now considered to be veteran at 35. He also impressed in a friendly against the mighty Brazil two years ago, subduing the inimitable Ronaldo with aplomb.
A much-travelled player, recent stints have included Grimsby, Wigan, Walsall and Bradford. Division One side Brentford is the latest club to employ his services, but there are several clubs in the UK and abroad interested in offering Lawrence an extension to his playing career. He is still picked for Jamaican internationals as well.
Lawrence’s wholehearted commitment has always endeared him to team-mates, managers, fans and even opponents alike. He won awards as player of the year at Bradford City and Player of the World Cup Campaign 2002 for Jamaica. Not bad for a former bad boy!
It’s no wonder his former manager at Wigan, Paul Jewell, once said when Lawrence arrived at the club: ‘Jamie is a bit flamboyant but on the pitch he gives everything. He is full of energy and he’ll even chase the waste paper! I know what he can do from my Bradford days and I’m sure we can get the best out of him.
‘I agreed to let another player leave providing we got cover and it was suggested Jamie came in exchange. Jamie turned up for his first day’s training at Wigan in sunglasses. I’m not quite sure where he had come from but there was certainly no sunshine in Wigan!’
Lawrence is philosophical about his life from prison to the Premiership.
He says: ‘I can’t blame any of my bad stuff on other people. My mum and dad went back to Jamaica when I was 17 and suddenly I was in the big wide world with nothing. So I went and lived with my sister in Croydon. She’d just had a child and neither of us had much money; the easiest way for me to survive was through crime. I’d started playing football when I was only three. My parents encouraged me but, because there were eight of us, they worked hard and their time was limited. Although I was always involved with local teams around Battersea, I never attracted the interest of a professional club.
‘Just after my parents left this country, I was arrested for the first time. A friend and I were caught driving a car stolen. From here, I went steadily downhill and, when I was 19, I was sent to prison for theft, assault and numerous robberies.
‘I went to Feltham young offenders institute. Although I was scared, many of my friends were there. That made it easier. I went to the gym every day, I worked out in my cell, I did some courses, and I played football constantly because I still believed I could make it.
‘I spent a year there. Did I think about what I’d done? Being honest, most of my crimes were against people like myself - never against women or old people - and so I thought they deserved what they got.
‘I was released a month before my 21st birthday and, just six weeks later, I was back in trouble. This was with a guy I’d had problems with over the years, He was having a go at a friend of mine so I beat him up, then robbed him.
‘He didn’t go to the police immediately. Instead, he went around telling everyone he was going to kill me. I waited for him one day and said: "I heard you were after me?" He turned and ran off and that was when he got the police involved.
‘What happened next was startling. The friend, whom I’d stuck up for, did a deal with the police. He agreed to give evidence against me in return for being let off. I went on the run for six weeks, hiding out at my sister’s. ‘It wasn’t fair on her and when you’re in hiding the only way of earning is to commit more crime. Also, I still wanted to make it as a footballer.
‘The first time I’d gone to prison my parents did not find out but while I was on remand, my mother came over from Jamaica. She visited me and said, "Son, why are you doing this to me?" She began to cry, which made me cry as well - the only time I cried through all of this.
‘At the trial, my so-called best friend stood in the dock and spoke against me. I got four years for robbery with violence, and was sent to the Isle of Wight. There, unlike in young offenders’ institutions, men are not trying to prove themselves, even if I did have one problem early on with someone who threatened me. I beat him up and had no more trouble after that.
‘Even at this stage, I knew I could make it as a footballer. Then something happened that convinced me it was meant to be. On Boxing Day 1993, I played for the prison against a semi-professional team, Cowes Sports. I scored two goals and then their manager asked the prisoner governor if I could play for them.
‘I took it from there. For the first month or so I played against teams on the island and became a bit of a local celebrity. I continued playing well and professional clubs started to watch me. This was my big opportunity, but I was never nervous. Nervous, for me, is standing in a courtroom waiting to be sentenced.
‘I was released in 1993 after 26 months inside. Ninety days later I went up to Sunderland for a trial and managed to do well enough for Terry Butcher [then Sunderland’s manager] to offer me a one-year contract.
‘It was difficult to take in. I signed on the Friday and on the Sunday appeared as a substitute in an away game at Middlesbrough. They played Jailhouse Rock on the PA as I warmed up, which made me laugh. To come on as a substitute, to have the chance actually to play professionally, was an amazing experience.
‘The following Tuesday, in front of 18,000 at Roker Park, I played from the start. I was shaky at first but soon settled down. When I came off, I received a standing ovation.
‘It was unbelievable. I’d gone from one extreme to another. Now, a decade later, I’ve appeared in more than 250 matches, won the Littlewoods Cup with Leicester, and have 13 caps for Jamaica. If it were not for prison, I would never have made it as a professional footballer.
‘When I am finished, I’d like to work in the community with young people. I’d like to use my experience to show them that, if you get into trouble as a young person, your life is not necessarily over. You can always fight back and make something of your life.’
The life of Jamie Lawrence will soon be featured in a book, which will provide huge inspiration to many young-sters across the world.
