By Elroy Stephney

JOSEPH Livan was referred to as `bouncing Joe’, but no, he didn’t excel at boxing. Instead, the heavyweight and multi-talented sportsman enjoyed success primarily at cricket, football and table tennis.
He hails from Henrietta Village on the Essequibo Coast and is one of the county’s most gifted individuals.

In fact, it was no other than the incomparable Sir Garfield Sobers who first identified him as a prospect, when the legendary all-rounder visited Guyana during the 1980s on a coaching stint in Essequibo.
According to the soft-spoken Livan, “Sir Garry was impressed with my batting skills and even compared my style with his,” he remarked with a smile.

Livan was later presented with the Garfield Sobers trophy and a bat for being the best batsman during the exercise as a teenager at the time.
The elegant left-hander was best known for his rasping square cuts and punches off the back foot on his way towards dominating club cricket in Essequibo.
In his prime, he represented Gunners Sports Club, North Essequibo and Essequibo inter-county teams as an opening batsman.

The versatile athlete was also a member of the Guyana National Service (GNS), where he got the opportunity to enhance his talent as a cricketer and footballer, playing in Georgetown.
He recounted having pummelled numerous centuries and rated his majestic 165 against Queenstown in 1998 as his best innings.

Though he was a class act, he competed with himself at football and table tennis too, where he was also exceptional.
Livan was a lightning-fast striker who marvelled at dribbling his opponents and scoring frequently.

The dapper prodigy began loving the sport as a kid, growing up in the countryside, kicking wildly in the open pastures. He then seriously concentrated on the sport during his schooling and later for the Scramblers Sports Club where he became quite popular for his exciting style of play.

Livan was best known for scoring once he is in close range of the 18-yard box where he would unleash a right-footer with precision and power.
He later secured selection for trials at the national level though he was unfortunate not to make the final draw.

Yet, when he was not batting or scoring goals, he wielded his racquet indoors for a competitive and gruelling game of table tennis.

He boasted of having professional coaching to become a sharp player, who could loop, spin and back-hand the ball with consummate ease and accuracy. It was one of his precious time-consuming periods when he would be focused, especially during the rainy season that would have prevented him from outdoors training.

Livan was also quick to point out that he was given the timely advice to play tennis by another West Indian legend, Roy Fredericks, who, he said. was good at it.
“Playing table tennis helps you to sharpen your reflexes, foot movements and eye sight,’ he remarked, adding that it helped his game tremendously, especially cricket.

He further pointed out that it was very difficult for him to separate the three sports and that “teammates sometimes would be angry with me, since, as soon as I took off my pads I would head straight into a game of football’ during many of his afternoon sessions.

Sports, though, formed a great legacy of his life and according to the 56-year-old, who has now hung up his gloves and pegs, he would always cherish the unforgettable moments whether punching a four through backward point, caressing the ball on his chess and converting it into a goal or back-handing a tennis ball over the net.

Livan now concentrates on leading the new cadre of young athletes as the coach of the Henrietta United Football Club.

He also frequently attends cricket matches as a reminder of his past times. Livan has left an indelible mark in Essequibo and was rated as one of the finest to excel in three different sporting disciplines.