With Jamaica looking to renew their efforts at qualifying for their second World Cup, a strong back line is imperative.

With that in mind, it is good to see Alex Thomas playing football once again. Three years ago, the 25-year-old was well on his way to stardom, as he played an integral role in Peter Cargill’s attempt to qualify Jamaica for the Under-23 World Cup and the Olympics. That promise had shown itself much earlier, when at 14-years-old, though the Manning Cup was cancelled that year, he started in a league thought to be for much older boys.

At that time, the coach of Wolmer’s Boys’ was Jeffrey Mordecai and he saw, that while young, the youngster showed immense knowledge of the game and had a calm head on his shoulders.

After the Uner-23s failed at achieving their goals, Alex was forgotten, not disimilar to his brother Shavar, who faced the same problem after the failures of the senior team in World Cup qualification. Shavar is back to playing international football and it is my sincerest hope that Alex will follow suit.

After Alex delved into football obscurity, he found things got rougher after he had injury problems. But the story didn’t end badly for the young man, as he went to the G.C. Foster college and furthered his education.

While he was doing that, football seemed to take a back seat and he had trouble getting fit. Bouncing around between Harbour View and Arnett Gardens last year, I asked the young man if he had any intentions of again taking the sport seriously.

“OF course,” he said. “Mi jus’ haffi seal up mi foundation,” he added, speaking about his decision to be matriculated.

This season, he is again fit and rearing to go. Arnett has let in five goals in eight games this season. Not an overly impressive statistic, but if you compare it to the defensive woes they have been suffering from over the past three years, it’s brilliant. Furthermore, Alex’s input has meant, while Arnett are eighth in the league, they have the second best defensive record of the 12-team competition so far, with only Portmore United doing any better. Portmore have conceded three goals in their last six games.

What has, more than anything else, drawn the attention of Premidictor to Alex, is not his checkered past, but his ability to see the game beyond his years. That ability means he is the modern defender, A type that is hard to find in Jamaica. You know those defenders that don’t have to make rash tackles and never look hurried. That’s Alex and his type of football should be encouraged. There is another defender of that make who never fails to impress. That man is Anthony Modeste, but that for another day.

Knowing Alex, he will get better as the season continues and knowing our readers, you will be watching his progress.