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Norman leaves no 'Stone' unturned in service of Boyz
IAN BURNETT @ THE DIGICEL CARIBBEAN CUP in Martinique
Monday, December 06, 2010
IAN BURNETT @ THE DIGICEL CARIBBEAN CUP in Martinique
Monday, December 06, 2010
SAINTE-LUCE, Martinique — If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michealangelo painted, or Beethoven composed, or Shakespeare wrote poetry.
He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.
Reggae Boyz equipment manager, Norman Stone, irons a team shirt in Martinique recently.
Reggae Boyz equipment manager, Norman Stone, irons a team shirt in Martinique recently.
Reggae Boyz equipment manager, Norman Stone, irons a team shirt in Martinique recently.
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These are the words of Martin Luther King, the late Baptist minister who led the mass civil rights movement in the US.
This individual never makes the headlines for scoring the winning goal, or making a great save to keep Jamaica's football team in a contest, but his intangible contributions do not go unnoticed.
He is very much as important a part of the team as any player, coach or manager, and his commitment to the Reggae boyz movement is unwavering.
He is 43-year-old Norman Stone, not a street sweeper, but the equipment manager of the Jamaica National Football teams.
"It is my life," he told the Observer about his job. "The passion is so strong it is unbelievable. The love of country... I love my country so much sometimes I even cry," he said, even as tears swelled his eyes.
"It is my life," he told the Observer about his job. "The passion is so strong it is unbelievable. The love of country... I love my country so much sometimes I even cry," he said, even as tears swelled his eyes.
During a Premier League game at the Spanish Town Prison Oval between home team Rivoli United and Reno FC some years ago, the match ball was lost after being kicked towards the Gas Station side of the venue. To the surprise of many, however, Stone watched a replay of the game on TVJ later that night and examined the play when the ball went missing and went back to the venue the next day to retrieve it.
Such was his commitment to his job at Rivoli United at the time.
The father of an eight-year-old daughter and a six-month-old son has been employed to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for the past 12 years as an equipment manager, lending a helping hand to the Reggae Boyz as they prepared for the France 1998 World Cup Finals.
The father of an eight-year-old daughter and a six-month-old son has been employed to the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) for the past 12 years as an equipment manager, lending a helping hand to the Reggae Boyz as they prepared for the France 1998 World Cup Finals.
Stone probably clocks more miles than any of the Boyz, juniors or seniors, during a training session. He's the person one sees fetching balls from all over the ground, attending to the individual needs of each player and the coaches, racing to the bags for bibs, cones, or just about anything to do with the session, That's Stone.
His job starts from before the players take to the field, and it continues long after the players have left the pitch and returned to their hotel.
In fact, the Observer caught Stone at about 1:30 am last week in the laundry room ironing gear for a match at the just concluded Digicel Caribbean Cup here in Martinique, long after the players, and most likely the rest of the delegation, had retired to bed.
In fact, the Observer caught Stone at about 1:30 am last week in the laundry room ironing gear for a match at the just concluded Digicel Caribbean Cup here in Martinique, long after the players, and most likely the rest of the delegation, had retired to bed.
But he never complained, and was in fact quick to point out how eager he was to have everything ready for the match the next day.
"Preparing for a game, you check and recheck the uniforms from overnight and make sure everything is okay. Sometimes after washing the gear the crests (logos) fold so you have to check them and iron those out, as well as other creases in the uniform. You want them to look good when they go out on the pitch," he said with unfettered pride.
"Preparing for a game, you check and recheck the uniforms from overnight and make sure everything is okay. Sometimes after washing the gear the crests (logos) fold so you have to check them and iron those out, as well as other creases in the uniform. You want them to look good when they go out on the pitch," he said with unfettered pride.
"Then I have to fold them the right and proper way. I learnt that from Ian (Hylton, the former equipment manager) how to fold the uniforms inside the travelling bags without crushing them. Then you add all the players personal stuff, ankle wraps, ankle socks, shin guards etc, you get the drinks and water and your four igloos for match days, two in the changing room and two on the outside, then you stock up with ice and restart gear (extra gear) for second half and emergencies, lined out in the changing room to be available at a moment's notice, so I always have to be alert on the bench and inside and around the changing room," he boasted.
He added: "I work right through the day, if you have 24 hours in the day, I work 18 hours non-stop, just to make sure, because I am a human being so I leave nothing to chance... my name is Stone, so I leave no stone unturned."
Despite the challenges, being the equipment manager is easy for Stone, the Denham Town Primary and Tredegar Park All-Age past student. It appears easy because he is an avid fan of sports, football and track and field in particular, and will dare let you know that he has the privilege of coaching former national players such as Wolry Wolfe, Omar Cummings, Rafe Wolfe, Winston Griffiths, Allien Whittaker among others while being the head coach of the St Catherine FA Under-12, Under-14 and Under-15 teams.
Stone was awarded a track scholarship to Dunoon Technical in 1984/85 where he spent two years, but unfortunately injuries prevented him from participating at Champs, in addition to his failing grades in class.
But he actually got involved in the equipment side of the sport unwittingly. During his coaching days with the St Catherine FA he would collect the gear and drop them off at a lady for washing, and one day she asked him to take them to the laundry and pick them up, and after doing that for a while, he just eliminated her and did it for himself as a result.
As an ambitious man, he wanted to get involved with the national programme and being a part of the St Catherine FA, he sought the intervention of the St Catherine FA president, Lincoln 'Happy' Sutherland, who recommended him to the JFF general secretary Horace Reid.
It took some time for it to become a reality, but during the period of inactivity, he would visit the Reggae Boyz training sessions and used the opportunity to forge a relationship with the then equipment manager, Ian Hylton.
Then the call came for him to join the JFF in early 1998. "I learnt a lot of the tricks in the trade from Ian, but I have added my ideas over the years...," he said.
"On tours sometimes it is not easy, it is tough, but it is your dream, it is your love, it is your passion, it is your everything, so you just go about and get the job done without complaining."
As part of the backroom staff, Stone has had the pleasure of travelling overseas on many occasions with the Reggae Boyz -- seniors and junior.
"I've been fortunate to go to Brazil on so many occasions with all the age group teams, Brazil is like my second home, I enjoy going there," he said. "I also love a little country in Central America by the name of Guatemala, but I've been to the US, the Caribbean, England, South Africa, which was great for me because it was like going home when you go to the 'Motherland', it was really something special for me.
"I've been fortunate to go to Brazil on so many occasions with all the age group teams, Brazil is like my second home, I enjoy going there," he said. "I also love a little country in Central America by the name of Guatemala, but I've been to the US, the Caribbean, England, South Africa, which was great for me because it was like going home when you go to the 'Motherland', it was really something special for me.
"It was really heart-rending knowing the facts about Mandela and the other things concerning the African continent; I've been to Argentina, which was another great experience for me. I had the pleasure of meeting the equipment manager for the Argentina national team -- he speaks fluent English -- so we exchanged ideas and all of that, so I always use these opportunities to learn," he added gleefully.
On match days Stone goes to the game venue hours before the team in order to prepare so that when the players arrive everything is ready for them to go.
It was the great educator and reformer Booker T Washington who once said: "Excellence is to do a common thing in an uncommon way." Stone's methods might not be uncommon, but one thing is certain, he is excellent at what he does.