Going beyond the borders
As we are, we are locked in that mode of amateurism, hence underachieving becomes part and parcel of the outcomes.{{more}}
Therefore, one way of wading through the many obstacles which are stumbling blocks to the next rung, is the search for assistance elsewhere, namely overseas.
The pathway through such objectives goes with both our technical personnel as well as our pool of sportsmen and sportswomen, who are desirous in not only national representation, but making sports an avenue for economic viability.
Incidentally, within recent times, young Vincentian student-athletes have been venturing out at US junior colleges and universities.
The latest cohort spread across different sporting disciplines with football taking the biggest slice.
Track and field and tennis have added to the total.
Significantly too, many of the college coaches are in tune with what is taking place here, thus easing the processes of acceptance.
Either way, it must be good news for us, as it means that something is being done here in terms of preparatory work, making them fit for export, as well as giving the student-athletes a new hope.
This is so, as often many young sportsmen and women, after finishing their secondary education here and things do not work out for them employment wise, often throw their arms up in hopelessness.
Therefore, with the new lease on life for educational/sporting opportunities, St Vincent and the Grenadines has to surge to get more scholarships and grants, so as to preserve that talent pool.
However, this must not be any haphazard approach, as the better the quality that is sent out, the better our sporting stock will be served in the future.
Not also withstanding the fact that when they leave these shores, invariably they become more mature, as their new environments force them to “man up,â as it were.
And, there are several testimonies to support that in most instances, not only the student-athletes benefit, but St Vincent and the Grenadines becomes the recipient of more rounded individuals, who made the best of their stints overseas.
To take the argument further, many never return, making the US and elsewhere their adopted home, but all in all, their families and by extension, St Vincent and the Grenadines pocket the remittances.
In reverse, there should be a constructed effort to source technical expertise here on the ground, to assist in the various sporting programmes in place.
This is why this column has come to the conclusion that although St Vincent and the Grenadines possesses a multitude of trained technical personnel across several sporting disciplines, we need to seek expertise from outside.
Apart from the fact that our inâhouse personnel are limited, procuring outside assistance may be the best choice in some cases, as unfortunately the current stock of sportsmen and women seem not to respect their own.
Getting such assistance, the policy makers should optimize the designated overseas missions.
St Vincent and the Grenadines has diplomatic relations with several countries which have a reservoir of trained coaches and others, who can add value to what exists here.
As a consequence, the home-grown coaches and administrators should also feed from the knowledge and know-how of those brought in to impart their proficiency.
The one-off stay of about six-months through the Olympic Movement through its Solidarity courses surely will not do, as the state of many of our sporting disciplines desire a more long-term and sustained coaching and structured programming.
The onus is now on the collaborative efforts of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Education, the respective national sporting associations and coaches, to get the engine started and get moving towards seeking out every possibility to get sports going with help from beyond these borders.
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