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FROM THE BOUNDARY - Prime Minister Golding on the ball
published: Friday | October 19, 2007
Tony Becca
WHEN IT comes to the love for sport, Bruce Golding, I believe, or so it seems, is behind former prime ministers Michael Manley, Edward Seaga, P.J. Patterson and Portia Simpson.
When it comes to appreciating the importance of sport to the society, however, Prime Minister Golding is right up there with any, and all four.
Although it is easier said than done, even though, as they say in Jamaica, talk is cheap, based on his speech on Wednesday night, he, like most of the four, knows something about sport and, most important, understands that champions do not, like mangoes and coconuts, fall out of trees.
Being a role model
Delivering the main address at the Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, the country's latest Prime Minister talked about Jamaica's greatness in sport.
He underlined the importance of sport to a society, and especially so to one like Jamaica's, and he emphasised the importance of hard work and discipline, the commitment to achieving excellence and, like Walsh himself, Jimmy Adams and Deon Hemmings - the two previous winners of the award, and Elaine Davis, the toast of the night, the winner of this year's award - of being a role model to youngsters.
However, for those who wish to see Jamaica maintain its greatness in sport, and for those who would love to see Jamaica produce more cricketers like Walsh and Adams, more track athletes like Hemmings, and more netballers like Davis, Prime Minister Golding's best shot was when he talked about oppor-tunities, exposure and development.
After praising Walsh for his deeds on the cricket field, for becoming the first man to take 500 wickets in Test cricket, the Prime Minister said that there were probably a number of youngsters out there who had the talent to have done what Walsh did, but who never got the chance to parade their skills and then to develop those skills.
According to Golding, that was all because of the lack of opportunity and because, as a people, Jamaicans love to cheer stars and not to assist in the development of stars.
Technique and training
The Prime Minister, however, went beyond fingering one of the problems of sport in Jamaica and attempting to explain the reason or reasons for the problem. He promised to do something about it.
To a backdrop of applause, the Prime Minister, in the presence of a number of his ministers, promised that the Government of Jamaica will put in more resources, more money into sport, so that the natural talent of Jamaicans can be properly and fully developed.
"I am not making a criticism," said Golding, "but we have got to the stage where we focus a lot of attention, put a lot of resources, on those who have achieved. They are quoted in the newspapers and especially so when they score a century or clock a good time over the 100 metres.
"There are, however, a lot of Courtneys out there, people with the talent to do what he has done. Raw talent, however, can no longer make it. There was a time when we could go out there on a cricket field and demolish the opposition with sheer talent.
"Those days, however, are over. Today, technique and training and planning are important to success. We are going to talk to the government institutions, to the schools, to the sports associations and to the communities, and I make no apology in saying that we are going to put more resources into development at that level so that we can produce many more Courtney Walshes."
Do something about it
It was a wonderful speech, and the Prime Minister deserved every handclap that punctuated it.
Some of us in sport have been talking for a long time about the lack of programmes in so many of the country's sports, and about the lack of the scouting, the grooming and the development side of things.
Although we have to wait and see, even though there are greater priorities in the country, it was good to know that the Prime Minister understands what sport means to a society, and particularly so to this one.
More important, however, it was nice to hear the big man in the land not only talking about it, but also saying that he will do something about it.
published: Friday | October 19, 2007
Tony Becca
WHEN IT comes to the love for sport, Bruce Golding, I believe, or so it seems, is behind former prime ministers Michael Manley, Edward Seaga, P.J. Patterson and Portia Simpson.
When it comes to appreciating the importance of sport to the society, however, Prime Minister Golding is right up there with any, and all four.
Although it is easier said than done, even though, as they say in Jamaica, talk is cheap, based on his speech on Wednesday night, he, like most of the four, knows something about sport and, most important, understands that champions do not, like mangoes and coconuts, fall out of trees.
Being a role model
Delivering the main address at the Courtney Walsh Award for Excellence at the Jamaica Pegasus hotel, the country's latest Prime Minister talked about Jamaica's greatness in sport.
He underlined the importance of sport to a society, and especially so to one like Jamaica's, and he emphasised the importance of hard work and discipline, the commitment to achieving excellence and, like Walsh himself, Jimmy Adams and Deon Hemmings - the two previous winners of the award, and Elaine Davis, the toast of the night, the winner of this year's award - of being a role model to youngsters.
However, for those who wish to see Jamaica maintain its greatness in sport, and for those who would love to see Jamaica produce more cricketers like Walsh and Adams, more track athletes like Hemmings, and more netballers like Davis, Prime Minister Golding's best shot was when he talked about oppor-tunities, exposure and development.
After praising Walsh for his deeds on the cricket field, for becoming the first man to take 500 wickets in Test cricket, the Prime Minister said that there were probably a number of youngsters out there who had the talent to have done what Walsh did, but who never got the chance to parade their skills and then to develop those skills.
According to Golding, that was all because of the lack of opportunity and because, as a people, Jamaicans love to cheer stars and not to assist in the development of stars.
Technique and training
The Prime Minister, however, went beyond fingering one of the problems of sport in Jamaica and attempting to explain the reason or reasons for the problem. He promised to do something about it.
To a backdrop of applause, the Prime Minister, in the presence of a number of his ministers, promised that the Government of Jamaica will put in more resources, more money into sport, so that the natural talent of Jamaicans can be properly and fully developed.
"I am not making a criticism," said Golding, "but we have got to the stage where we focus a lot of attention, put a lot of resources, on those who have achieved. They are quoted in the newspapers and especially so when they score a century or clock a good time over the 100 metres.
"There are, however, a lot of Courtneys out there, people with the talent to do what he has done. Raw talent, however, can no longer make it. There was a time when we could go out there on a cricket field and demolish the opposition with sheer talent.
"Those days, however, are over. Today, technique and training and planning are important to success. We are going to talk to the government institutions, to the schools, to the sports associations and to the communities, and I make no apology in saying that we are going to put more resources into development at that level so that we can produce many more Courtney Walshes."
Do something about it
It was a wonderful speech, and the Prime Minister deserved every handclap that punctuated it.
Some of us in sport have been talking for a long time about the lack of programmes in so many of the country's sports, and about the lack of the scouting, the grooming and the development side of things.
Although we have to wait and see, even though there are greater priorities in the country, it was good to know that the Prime Minister understands what sport means to a society, and particularly so to this one.
More important, however, it was nice to hear the big man in the land not only talking about it, but also saying that he will do something about it.
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