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Vere Technical High are looking to get back into serious contention for the girls' portion of the ISSA Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships with the mid-August hiring of Elton Coombs as head coach to replace Christopher Harley.

Vere have won the most girls' titles with 21, including 15 in a row, but since the last crowning moment in 2002, have struggled to finish in the top three, with their best result being in 2009 when they tallied 194.5 points to finish second behind Holmwood.

From Hayes, Clarendon, Vere have also been outstanding at the prestigious annual Penn Relays in Philadelphia, United States of America, winning 39 Championships of America titles.

This includes the unique 1991 feat of becoming the only high school team to win all their Championships of America events by capturing the 4x100, 4x400, 4x800 metres and the distance medley events.

Vere have also produced the most Olympians from Jamaica, including Merlene Ottey, Deon Hemmngs-McCathy, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Beverly McDonald, Merlene Frazier, Lacena Golding-Clarke and Shericka Jackson.

Coombs is expected to bring Vere back to their glory days with his vast experience.

"I know that this is a very challenging job, and there are several reasons why I took up this challenge, and the most important one was to come out of the shadow and gear toward my goal as a coach in Jamaica.

"Based on my experience and effective coaching style, the Vere athletes at present have accepted what I have to offer, and once they keep working at the rate we are, then we are going to improve big time, but as you know, it is not an overnight thing," Coombs said.

He started as a throwing coach at Jamaica College between 2002 and 2008, with stints in sprints and hurdles between 2009 and 2015. He was head coach of St Mary's College between 2015 and 2017 and had coaching duties at St Elizabeth Technical as head coach of the girls' team between 2017 and 2023.

He also coached at Florida State University before returning home to the University of Technology and MVP Track Club.

He was sceptical about the support he has received from the school community.

"It can be better, but based on the team's performance over the past couple of years, some people are waiting to see if the team can rise again or if myself and my coaching staff can make a difference," he said.