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Observer EDITORIAL: Beyond the accolades

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  • Observer EDITORIAL: Beyond the accolades

    Beyond the accolades

    Tuesday, August 20, 2013

    OUR athletes deserve to be showered with all the superlatives in the dictionary, as well as those unique colloquialisms currently in usage in Jamaican dialect. However, most of these expressions of praise and appreciation from a grateful and proud nation are superficial and gloss over deeper lessons.

    It cannot be said too often that the achievements of our athletes reflect phenomenal talent, incredible discipline, sustained hard work, and brilliant coaching. However, several important lessons are missed in the national euphoria.

    Jamaica has built and operated one of the world's best systems of identifying talent at an early age and nurturing it through a network of coaches, many of whom are Olympians. No other country has an event comparable to Jamaica's four-day Boys' and Girls' Championships staged in a stadium packed with more than 20,000 cheering fans and televised locally and internationally.

    The track and field industry (it is no longer only a sport) is locally owned, financed, managed, and staffed and is a foreign exchange-earning activity.
    Jamaica is not just internationally competitive, it is a global leader — Not surprising for a country that has the best coffee and rum in the world.

    Track and field, like tourism and bauxite, started based on a local asset being foreign-financed and foreign-managed. Now, our track and field industry no longer has to send athletes abroad to be trained.

    In all this, the importance of tradition cannot be overlooked, as it has been established that all dreams are possible, a fact proven by pioneer athletes like Messrs Herb McKenley and Arthur Wint.

    Their victories, dating back more than half-a-century to the colonial era, have been consolidated into a tradition by their successors such as Messrs George Kerr and Donald Quarrie and Ms Merlene Ottey.

    As such, achievement in track and field has been an important means of social mobility for numerous youngsters from working class homes. It is still a critical avenue to a university education and to travel and employment abroad. It demonstrates the virtues of discipline, hard work and competition as vital attributes for success in any endeavour in life, and carry over from the track to the classroom and the workplace.

    It teaches how to handle adversity, how to be gracious in victory and to accept and learn from defeat.

    Track and field also encourages a clean and healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition and the benefits of avoiding the use of harmful drugs.

    We have also seen that almost all of our leading athletes acknowledge that their accomplishments are not solely due to their own efforts and express their gratitude to God.

    If all Jamaicans practised that lifestyle, this would be the wonderful country we all want it to be.



    Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/edito...#ixzz2cYTyhk62
    "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

  • #2
    Aaaah bwoy? Beyond the acolades...possibilities!!!!

    With a look to the future we could substitute any area of endeavour...couldn't we?

    ...with apologies to The Jamaica Observer -

    ----

    Beyond the accolades

    OUR footballers deserve to be showered with all the superlatives in the dictionary, as well as those unique colloquialisms currently in usage in Jamaican dialect. However, most of these expressions of praise and appreciation from a grateful and proud nation are superficial and gloss over deeper lessons.

    It cannot be said too often that the achievements of our footballers reflect phenomenal talent, incredible discipline, sustained hard work, and brilliant coaching. However, several important lessons are missed in the national euphoria.

    Jamaica has built and operated one of the world's best systems of identifying talent at an early age and nurturing it through a network of coaches, many of whom are Olympians. No other country has an event comparable to Jamaica's schools competitions played on fields dotting the length and breath of the island with the *secondary high schools Manning and DaCosta Cup football finals staged in a stadium packed with more than 20,000 cheering fans and televised locally and internationally.

    The football industry (it is no longer only a sport) is locally owned, financed, managed, and staffed and is a foreign exchange-earning activity.
    Jamaica is not just internationally competitive, it is a global leader — Not surprising for a country that has the best coffee and rum in the world.

    Football, like tourism and bauxite, started based on a local asset being foreign-financed and foreign-managed. Now, our track and field industry no longer has to send athletes abroad to be trained.

    In all this, the importance of tradition cannot be overlooked, as it has been established that all dreams are possible, a fact proven by pioneer athletes like Messrs Lloyd Lindbergh Delaphena, **Gillie Heron and Ricardo Gardner.

    Their victories, dating back more than half-a-century to the colonial era, have been consolidated into a tradition by their successors such as Messrs Future man, Future lady...

    As such, achievement in football has been an important means of social mobility for numerous youngsters from working class homes. It is still a critical avenue to a university education and to travel and employment abroad. It demonstrates the virtues of discipline, hard work and competition as vital attributes for success in any endeavour in life, and carry over from the track to the classroom and the workplace.

    It teaches how to handle adversity, how to be gracious in victory and to accept and learn from defeat.

    Football also encourages a clean and healthy lifestyle, proper nutrition and the benefits of avoiding the use of harmful drugs.

    We have also seen that almost all of our leading athletes acknowledge that their accomplishments are not solely due to their own efforts and express their gratitude to God.

    If all Jamaicans practised that lifestyle, this would be the wonderful country we all want it to be.



    *...now (our future world) along with the few academies (now grown to 12 academies???) playing quality international tournaments, display of best of the best before scouts from top professional clubs vying for opportunity to barter the (top) players signatures to lucrative contracts.

    ...snapping up even the second tier young prospects as our quality would now be rivaling the other top football nations.

    **http://www.bbc.co.uk/caribbean/news/story/2009/01/090108_heron.shtml

    One can dream!!!!
    ...because - Yes, we can!!!
    "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."

    Comment


    • #3
      Good post Karl
      Hey .. look at the bright side .... at least you're not a Liverpool fan! - Lazie 2/24/10 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

      Comment


      • #4
        Gillie Herron??


        BLACK LIVES MATTER

        Comment

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