To Llockett McGregor, heaven was just a short distance from his parents’ attractive little wooden house. He would run down the lane to the back gate of St George’s school which, even in those days, was kept closed. He would climb onto the ledge beside the gully and carefully  ease his way along to Lester’s house. Lester was another 9 year old whose family property was bordered by the gully on one side and Emmet Park, the St George’s playing field, on the other. The open field spelled freedom and was a big attraction to all the boys living in the area.

One day Llockett reached the field alone. He became fascinated by the sound of balls bouncing, and racquets “singing.” Someone was having fun on the tennis courts behind the huge wall some distance away.  Llockett’s sharp eye spotted a tennis ball landing right behind the wall. No one came to claim it immediately so he darted across to retrieve his “trophy” and began to run back to safety. It had all been too easy and, of course, the ball was not his to take. He turned and made his way back towards a hole in the fence. The men’s foursome saw him coming. Father Hosey was impressed by the demeanour and thoughtful behaviour of this gangly local lad.  He took pains to explain that the ball was rightly theirs but if Llockett would care to act as a ballboy for the rest of play they would give him the ball at the end of the game. This was an easy challenge which appealed to Llockett who would also be the beneficiary of an old, warped, wooden racquet at the end of the day.

At that time there were four hard courts at St George’s and, in no time at all thirteen other local lads were also spending their spare time working as ballboys for businessmen like Lloyd Mogg and JV Marsh. St George’s College was religiously winning the schoolboy tennis championships and so Vauxhall schoolboy Llockett McGregor also felt proud to be an ad hoc part of this success.

Soon Llockett was heading straight for the courts at St George’s after school every day and every spare minute was spent there. It was fun! There was no time to get into trouble but his parents were quite worried about their quiet, only child who, it seemed, lived simply to play tennis when they had hoped for an academic career.  They were also concerned about the dangers of sports injuries. Following an accident when he was just five years old Llockett had slowly lost the sight in one eye. His peers called him “One eye.” He still remembers their cries of “hit it on the blind side ” but soon young McGregor mastered not only the art of winning but also how to gain respect.

Llockett was both thick-skinned and obedient and he made sure he attended the Church service at his parents’ church on Sundays before racing off to George’s for Father Hosey’s Sunday morning lecture after Father returned from Mass.  Father Hosey was a real father figure to all the ballboys. He provided oranges and peanut butter sandwiches, drove them everywhere and dropped them home. It was whilst enjoying ice cream in the restaurant at Oxford Pharmacy that they were taught etiquette and other social graces. Father Hosey remembers Llockett as a good fellow who showed great promise and had a good aptitude for tennis. Not all the boys were as receptive or appreciative as Llockett and only about 25% of the ballboys would take up tennis seriously or consider it as a possible career. Rudy Ferguson was the most famous member of the group.

Although he was a loner, Llockett soon realized the benefits of mixing freely with adults. Impressed by his demeanour, keenness and attitude Francis and Dennis  Barnett and Robin Gyles all offered him encouragement. His dream was no longer to play tennis – he wanted to help others to succeed as he was doing- he wanted to be able to coach tennis to the best of his ability. He became aware that he would need to go abroad to qualify so he started saving. He saved every cent he could. Finally, in 1983, when he was twenty-one, the opportunity came. He was accepted to train at the famous Van de Meer Tennis University in South Carolina. He learnt much from the very broad curriculum which covered all aspects of tennis from teaching aids and stringing racquets to the psychology of match play, the construction and design of tennis courts and tournament management. Llockett successfully immersed himself deep in his studies and became the first Jamaican to qualify with professional certificates in the coaching  of tennis. He was accepted as a member of the United States Professional Tennis Registry. He attended the Olympic Solidarity Course in 1986 and, in 1989 further upgraded  his coaching skills by completing the Advanced Tennis Programme at Van de Meer. He has also completed several advanced courses offered by the International Tennis Federation.

After his first visit to America, Llockett returned to Jamaica ready to take on the world but finding a job was not easy. Lacking experience he became an itinerant coach until he got a job as Coach at the Scotia Bank courts. Disappointed that his applications to the prestigious Liguanea Club had been turned down, Llockett felt honoured and flattered when Tony Moe, the Pro at Liguanea Club, invited him to become his assistant. Soon afterwards the Sheraton Hotel opened sports facilities and Llockett  was registered as Head Tennis Coach. He soon gained the experience he needed in organizing tournaments. Not long afterwards Tony Moe decided to go back on tour. Would Llockett coach him?  Lockett was thrilled by this opportunity and helped to bring Moe’s ranking down from 800 to 150. James Samuels took over the management of Liguanea Club and in 1988. He invited Llockett to become Liguanea’s Head Tennis Coach, a position he has proudly held until today.

Those were the days when pride and success went hand in hand with sportsmanship and scintillating play on the tennis court.  Great rivalry existed between several well-known training camps. The Russells, Stephensons and Sarnias all cared about their “charges” and friendly competition served to fire up the young players even more. Llockett used every opportunity to emulate respected   players  like the Russells and David Pratt. David Tate was a big inspiration to him.

Llockett, himself, has helped with the coaching of many successful players over the years. Amongst them are John Cook, Jennifer The, David Phillips, Bob Andy, Laila Rao, Dwayne and Dominic Pagan, Alana Broderick, Tyla Chin, Christopher Martin, Chey George, Lisa Lacroix, the Azar family and many more.

Since his first flight on an airplane to the  Coca Cola tournament in the Bahamas, tennis has afforded Llockett the opportunity  to travel extensively in Europe and North America. He has watched both the Wimbledon and US Open tournaments from the grandstands. The last time Jamaica won the Davis Cup was in 2008. Jamaica moved from Group 3 to Group 2 on that occasion and the Coach/Captain of the team was Llockett McGregor. This was Llockett’s finest moment and an achievement he will never forget.

Llockett has been the Pro Coach at  Kingston’s prestigious  Liguanea Club for the past twenty- eight years. He has organized a summer camp for juniors aged 5 to 18 every single year. He is always on the look-out for “ the  winning profile” as well as being quick to spot coaching deficiencies. He believes in always being positive. As we step on to the court we must always go out there to win. A senior member of the club who has had lessons in several countries maintains that Llockett is the best coach in the world because he tells you not only what you are doing wrong but how to correct your errors.

Asked what he thought of Llockett McGregor as a coach, a teen replied “He’s good. He never accepts excuses. He has no favourites – at least I don’t think so! He helps everybody and he’s a good organizer.” Sasha-Lee Dixon-Moyston, an Assistant Coach for the National Junior team, said of Llockett “He coached me from when I was 13. He was good. He perfected the form of my backhand and I try to pass this knowledge on to all my students.”

A past national player made this comment “ Llockett McGregor has dedicated his life to tennis. He is genuinely interested in the development of the game. He contributes not just to the game  but adds value to the lives of many juniors who pass through his hands. For the young players, this translates into the benefits of meeting a wide cross-section of people and all the benefits of travelling. Thanks to Llockett’s mentoring, students can now go much farther than their High School graduation.”

The father of a very successful junior player who has travelled with Llockett on a number of occasions commented that Coach McGregor is also a highly respected coach on the international scene. Not only can he immediately identify any coaching deficiencies, he is definitely the most technically-advanced coach in the island.

The distinguished veteran coach Philbert Palmer recollected that Llockett had worked as a ballboy for him at the Sheraton in the 1970s. He also remembered his great sense of humour. Coach Palmer declared “Llockett McGregor has made me proud. He had a goal and he has reached it. He has moved from downtown Kingston up to Coopers’ Hill. His children have done well and he is now both a happy ‘family man’ and a successful businessman.”

Llockett has always had great faith in himself.  Humble, but justifiably proud, he believes he could help to raise Jamaica’s tennis to higher standards if only more help were forthcoming. For a start, perhaps tennis could claim back all four courts, and the memorable tennis wall, at St George’s. The more children have access to the game, the larger will be the pool of tennis-playing youngsters and the tournaments will become bigger and better. Jamaica needs not only more courts and players, but more coaches and greater commitment by the community.

It is tragic that no longer is there an award for Tennis Coach of the Year but there is no doubt that Coach Llockett McGregor would be the number one candidate for the title “Coach for a Lifetime.”