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Published: Thursday | August 13, 2009
Noel
THERE ARE four important elements that are necessary for a country to perform well in a sport at the international level. There needs to be a cadre of persons who are really talented at the sport. These persons need to have an enthusiasm for the sport. There must be support for the sport by the public and private sectors, and there needs to be a solid administrative structure which facilitates the development of talent .
In Jamaica and the Caribbean, our major sports in Jamaica are cricket, football, netball and track and field athletics.
Netball is a success story. Our record at the sport is near perfect. And it is clear to all that three of the four demands are met: our girls are talented, the players are enthusiastic, the administrators are well organised and clearheaded. It is only in the area of financial support in which we fall down. Yet, over the last decade, our teams have established themselves as among the best four in the world. If only the fourth element were added!
Secret to our success
We are also world beaters in track and field athletics. Here, all four elements fall into place. The secret to our success is a thing we call 'champs'. In the early years, the desire among alumni of a few schools to win at champs led them to lend all of their organisational skills to their schools' track teams. The Principals' Association set up a body called Inter-Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA) to run these champion-ships and other school sports, rules were put in place which led to the spread of the talent to more schools and then to the training of more high-quality coaches.
In the furnace called champs our great athletes (and coaches) were moulded. Some were from the traditional 'track' schools and some from schools where they were the 'one star'. But all were finely tuned for the event. The next step was taken a few years ago when coaches and administrators set up track clubs locally, so that our athletes did not have to ply their trade on foreign soil. So the system is near perfect.
But then there is the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA), the official governing body for the sport. The JAAA is constantly asserting its authority by trying to 'discipline' the athletes with whose development they had precious little to do. They set rules and regulations which sometimes the athletes' coaches do not see as being in their best interest. When this happens the JAAA threatens punishment if they do not comply.
Football, on the other hand, suffers from a bigger ailment. There was a time when the sport got the financial help it needed. But the administration has been sterile of ideas on how to develop the sport and much of what has been done has led us nowhere. The best thing to have happened administratively, in recent years, has been the formation of the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA), a grouping of the clubs themselves and led by the savvy Edward Seaga of Tivoli. It is only because of this, that some of the clubs in the Premier League have been able to survive.
The claims of the JFF administration are empty because, as one journalist said recently, these are some of the most basic things that any adminis-tration should do. And, in fact, some basic things have not been done.
'Look-after-myself' attitude
Which brings us to cricket. Over the years, successive administrations in West Indies cricket have treated our players quite badly - even when they put us atop the world. So what has happened? The new breed of players believe that they have to protect themselves. The Players' Association now reflects this 'look-after-myself' attitude. They have lost the second element, the enthusiasm for the game. The joy of representing the country takes second place. And the administration has lost the moral authority to discipline the players.
Our problem is our sports administrators! These persons have not performed well. Their main thrust seems always to be to 'keep people in their place'. They are keen on rules and regulations, but not on development and facilitating. There is much talk about 'discipline', but this is the bucky-massa discipline which is 'do what we tell you or else'! There is little consultation and dealing with the (sometimes silly) idiosyncracies of those with whom they have to work. The teams represent the country, not the associations. There needs to be a complete rethink! Or better yet, check the netball people and ask them for guidance!
Keith Noel is an educator. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm
Noel
THERE ARE four important elements that are necessary for a country to perform well in a sport at the international level. There needs to be a cadre of persons who are really talented at the sport. These persons need to have an enthusiasm for the sport. There must be support for the sport by the public and private sectors, and there needs to be a solid administrative structure which facilitates the development of talent .
In Jamaica and the Caribbean, our major sports in Jamaica are cricket, football, netball and track and field athletics.
Netball is a success story. Our record at the sport is near perfect. And it is clear to all that three of the four demands are met: our girls are talented, the players are enthusiastic, the administrators are well organised and clearheaded. It is only in the area of financial support in which we fall down. Yet, over the last decade, our teams have established themselves as among the best four in the world. If only the fourth element were added!
Secret to our success
We are also world beaters in track and field athletics. Here, all four elements fall into place. The secret to our success is a thing we call 'champs'. In the early years, the desire among alumni of a few schools to win at champs led them to lend all of their organisational skills to their schools' track teams. The Principals' Association set up a body called Inter-Secondary School Sports Association (ISSA) to run these champion-ships and other school sports, rules were put in place which led to the spread of the talent to more schools and then to the training of more high-quality coaches.
In the furnace called champs our great athletes (and coaches) were moulded. Some were from the traditional 'track' schools and some from schools where they were the 'one star'. But all were finely tuned for the event. The next step was taken a few years ago when coaches and administrators set up track clubs locally, so that our athletes did not have to ply their trade on foreign soil. So the system is near perfect.
But then there is the Jamaica Amateur Athletic Association (JAAA), the official governing body for the sport. The JAAA is constantly asserting its authority by trying to 'discipline' the athletes with whose development they had precious little to do. They set rules and regulations which sometimes the athletes' coaches do not see as being in their best interest. When this happens the JAAA threatens punishment if they do not comply.
Football, on the other hand, suffers from a bigger ailment. There was a time when the sport got the financial help it needed. But the administration has been sterile of ideas on how to develop the sport and much of what has been done has led us nowhere. The best thing to have happened administratively, in recent years, has been the formation of the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA), a grouping of the clubs themselves and led by the savvy Edward Seaga of Tivoli. It is only because of this, that some of the clubs in the Premier League have been able to survive.
The claims of the JFF administration are empty because, as one journalist said recently, these are some of the most basic things that any adminis-tration should do. And, in fact, some basic things have not been done.
'Look-after-myself' attitude
Which brings us to cricket. Over the years, successive administrations in West Indies cricket have treated our players quite badly - even when they put us atop the world. So what has happened? The new breed of players believe that they have to protect themselves. The Players' Association now reflects this 'look-after-myself' attitude. They have lost the second element, the enthusiasm for the game. The joy of representing the country takes second place. And the administration has lost the moral authority to discipline the players.
Our problem is our sports administrators! These persons have not performed well. Their main thrust seems always to be to 'keep people in their place'. They are keen on rules and regulations, but not on development and facilitating. There is much talk about 'discipline', but this is the bucky-massa discipline which is 'do what we tell you or else'! There is little consultation and dealing with the (sometimes silly) idiosyncracies of those with whom they have to work. The teams represent the country, not the associations. There needs to be a complete rethink! Or better yet, check the netball people and ask them for guidance!
Keith Noel is an educator. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm
Paul Marin -19 is one thing, 20 is a whole other matter. It gets even worse if they win the UCL. *groan*. 
05/18/2011.MU fans naah cough, but all a unuh a vomit?-Lazie 1/11/2015
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