Seldom does this sports writer miss The Fearless One (Andre Baptiste) in action on his radio show. And it just so happens that "TFO" was in tremendous form as he plunged into the deep waters of the Sport Ministry's Sports Company, headed by its astute boss, Gerard Ferreira, with Ken Butcher as the CEO.
As it turned out, Butcher had relatively little to say during Baptiste's critical questionnaires, notwithstanding certain sensitive references to an audit affecting the former. But, perhaps the most significant revelation was when Sport Minister Roger Boynes came into the picture, declaring that Prime Minister Patrick Manning is currently showing tremendous interest in the welfare of local sports, with cycling having been a pastime of his younger years. This comment did elicit a degree of surprise on behalf of "TFO" who, like most of us, does not associate Prime Minister Manning with an athletic past. At least there is no doubt about Education Minister Hazel Manning's interest in athletics-in particular, long distance running. Many of the thousands of people who lined up to witness the 1992 Women on the Move 5-k race will remember Mrs. Manning's participation in that event.
While this dive into the depths was taking place, attention soon turned to Everald "Gally" Cummings, the former head coach of the famous "Strike Squad" national football team. The 1990 World Cup-qualifying campaign was a remarkable period in Trinidad and Tobago's football history since it seemed only a matter of time before Cummings and his team would be gracing the world stage in Italy. With only the USA in the way, it was discovered that we had our own Nostradamus, who boldly decided that there will be national holiday-declared before the Americans even took the field of play. By this time one can well imagine that the beaches of Maracas and Manzanilla would have been crowded with people in festive moods. The Americans, though, probably wondered to themselves, "Say what?"
As history records, it took only 31 minutes for this country's greatest embarrassment to be ensured via a 30-metre shot that flew beyond goalkeeper Michael Maurice (now the Soca Warriors' goalkeeping coach). The match was lost and a lesson probably learnt, as it would be another 16 years before Trinidad and Tobago finally made it to the World Cup. Now, Baptiste was anxious to know the fate of Cummings, to whom promises of a job were made-yet nothing materialised except for promises and more promises. Naturally, "TFO" wanted to have positive, not negative, answers to Cummings' predicament.
Well one probable scenario can involve the former coach promoting football in this country's schools. Personally, and for the millionth time, the question of the Building Blocks before Starting Blocks concept comes glaringly into focus. This writer would suggest to Cummings (still waiting on the bench, so to speak, anticipating a call into action) that this will be a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate to critics that he still has a vital role to play in the constructive development of Trinidad and Tobago's football. He can link up with the physical education teachers of the Education Ministry and convince them that the Building Blocks-Starting Blocks concept is the only way to achieve sustained (as opposed to intermittent) success. The right direction must be shown to those coaches who have been over-anxious when it has come to placing their young athletes into top-level competition, regardless of whether their physical foundation was really strong enough to earn a trip to the starting blocks. This is so unlike the Australians who have established the world's foremost cricket academy where the participants are not only provided with the proper foundation and taught the technical intricacies of the game, but are even exposed to the business aspect of cricket--something that is psychologically important to the players' future welfare.
Of course, while on the subject of cricket, it was with an abundance of excitement up in Antigua that the Kaieteur Boys of Guyana defeated Ganga and his Gallant Crusaders of Trinidad and Tobago to become the first Stanford 20/20 Tournament Champions. It was a well-earned windfall for the Guyanese and let it be clearly understood that Guyana's victory was one that was achieved through their consistently high standard of play from the beginning of the competition, right until the end.
One must not fail to mention the outstanding performances of our athletes at the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Beijing, China. Renny Quow's triumph in the boys' 400 metres and Rhonda Watkins' victory in the girls' long jump were the definite highlights amongst Trinidad and Tobago's representatives, who continue this country's fine run of form in junior athletics competitions, going back to the late 1990s. In the meantime, the local organisers of the event have demonstrated a high-level of capability that would lead us to believe that Beijing will be more than ready for the Olympic Games in two years' time.