SPORTS
Andrew Gioannetti
Officials from the Trinidad and Tobago National Association of Athletics Administrations (NAAA) and the Secondary Training and Field Schools (SSTF), say they are not aware of any arrangements for local athletics administrators to be sent to Jamaica or to travel students- young Jamaican athletes. to TT.
Newsday spoke to NAAA general secretary Dexter Voisin and SSTF president Joseph Brewster about the possible deal suggested by the Prime Minister at the opening of the Mahaica Sports Complex in Point Fortin on Saturday.
“We, the NAAA, are hearing that comment for the first time and have no idea what it’s about,” Voisin told Newsday.
Prime Minister Rowley, speaking at a function to unveil the 1,795-seat complex, said he and Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness discussed and agreed that TT would send administrators to Jamaica “to learn from the Jamaican organizers who run the Champs with world famous (Jamaica) .”
Champs Jamaica is the largest and most popular athletics competition in the country, contested by high school teams, with athletes ranging in age from ten to 19 years old.
“I promised him (Holness) that TT will accept the offer,” Rowley said, adding that Jamaican kids who are scheduled to participate in the Champs program will also be invited to TT.
“We have a great pool of talent in our schools.
“We can learn from a Caricom neighbor. Young Jamaicans will come here and compete and from this deal talent will flow from here to the international stadium and we can create more opportunities.”
Newsday called and emailed the Ministry of Communications in the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday and received a reply shortly after saying the request for clarity and more information would be forwarded to communications director George Elias.
Voisin said he was not aware of any such programs in the works, and because of the vagueness of Rowley’s use of the word “administrator,” he was unable to provide an informed comment.
“To be honest, I don’t know what they are talking about.
“The transfer of knowledge, if I want to understand what it is about, (covers) a wide (administrative) range,” he said.
Voisin noted that programs in which student-athletes visit TT are not new. He said that perhaps if this agreement were tailored to student-athletes, it would involve the SSTF, not the NAAA.
“I would imagine, if schools are mentioned, I’d like to think he’s referring to that group. In the NAAA, although we work closely with everyone for the good of track and field, that committee is separate.”
He pointed to existing exchange programs, including one that saw Cuban coaches train athletes at the TT, such as Ismael Lopez Mastrapa, who has worked with Olympian Keshorn Walcott for at least a decade.
“What I can tell you, I’m very close to the Jamaica track administration (Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association).
“The president is my personal friend and I can tell you that they are not doing anything different from what we are doing in terms of administration… It depends on the athlete’s performance.
“However, their athletes are performing very differently to ours and if you watch training, you will see a difference.
“So administration is used in the statement, but I don’t know (in) what context. Coaches can also be administrators. It’s very vague.”
Voisin said he will contact Jamaica’s president of administration, Garth Gayle, for any information he may have, if any.
NOTHING LIKE THIS IS TAUGHT BY THE BEST
While the SSTF – formerly known as the TT Secondary Schools Training Association, are none the wiser about the Prime Minister’s statements, they do make for an interesting dialogue on the subject of TT, athlete development and administration.
“I haven’t been contacted by anybody, the (Ministry of) Education, the Prime Minister’s Office, the sports office, nobody about that deal,” Brewster told Newsday.
But following Rowley’s remark, “(TT) could learn from a Caricom neighbor,” Brewster was not offended.
“Let me tell you something; you can learn from anything that is successful anywhere in the world.
“There is much to learn, but more than learning, we must apply.”
Brewster said there is a lot to change, starting with the treatment of athletes, supporting them on their journey from a young age and not just celebrating their successes.
“Our country is full of talent. We are overflowing with talent. Everyone knows that. How are we able to develop and nurture that talent? It all lies in the school system.”
One of the sharp differences between the TT and Jamaica, he pointed out, is the culture of support for future star athletes prevalent in the latter.
So much so, Brewster said, that Olympic athletes like Yohan Blake and Shell-Ann Fraser-Pryce regard and treat teenage school athletes as the nation’s top stars, while the TT community doesn’t even respect its own world-famous athletes.
“We need the support. The answers are right in front of us. (It calls for) decisive action. It calls for a change of culture, a change of perspective.
“We don’t see what athletes do as a sustainable livelihood. We don’t see sport in all its forms as a means to increase national GDP. We don’t see the different aspects of sport, as far as it pertains to athletes, journalism or sports medicine, as we see teaching or (health care) as important (professions).
Like Blake and Fraser-Pryce, he said TT’s Walcott, Michelle-Lee Ahye, Jereem Richards, Jehue Gordon and many others are key role models at the high school level, having come through the system.
“Yes, we have a lot of work to do, a lot to achieve, but with the right support, they can make a massive difference.”
Brewster says the association knows what needs to be done to make the leap, but it can’t do it alone.
“It takes work on another level.”
