By Jasmaine Payne
Standing no more than five feet tall, 53-year-old Deborah Solomon is still a whole lot of woman: a trained caterer in charge of her own canteen and a volunteer coach for youth basketball at the Bishop’s High School. Three days a week, Deborah can be found on the school’s basketball court surrounded by teens, who, you can tell, adore her.

She looks like a natural on the court, but you’d be surprised to find out she actually knew very little about basketball before she started coaching four years ago.
“I became the coach by default because the actual coach went to UG to study and nobody was there. I was a parent just going to every game that my son played; I was just sitting in the stands, but after the need arose and the headmistress asked me, I just stepped in and helped out,” Deborah said. At the time, her knowledge of the sport was limited to the very basics, so at first she would just fill in as a chaperone. Over time, with assistance from other coaches and her own reading and research about the game, Deborah developed enough skills to help the Bishops Basketball step up their game.
Since taking up coaching, she has added two male teams to basketball in Guyana and also introduced the first female team to the school. She also introduced annual basketball camps during which she recruits and trains new players. With the help of a part time assistant coach, Deborah now manages all four of these teams, imparting to them valuable practical and theoretical skills of the sport. “It makes me feel young,” Deborah said, chuckling heartily at her own statement.
“I am very attached to the children, especially the ones I have recruited. It is good to see how they are transformed, from not knowing how to hold a ball, to now making waves on the team.”

Deborah’s position on the team has since earned her good reviews from parents and the school. She noticed also that many parents are very supportive of their children and faithfully attend their games, something which she admires. However, she expressed concern about instances where parents would seek to punish their children by keeping them away from the sport. She stated that this is counterproductive, as sports can do more good than harm in a child’s life.
“Children being involved in sports while their parents are there supporting them is something that builds a rapport between them and builds that parent-child relationship, especially now that children are more focused on these gadgets; sports is a good way to stay connected with them, so we should encourage that,” she said.

Of course, as a female coach, she did expect some opposition would come her way, but thankfully, Deborah admits that while this has not been done in the open, this does not mean it doesn’t exist.
“You get some vibrations from some of the people in authority who know that I don’t have a background in playing basketball, but that doesn’t trouble me. I am not moved by that because the teams I have taken to the games are most often winners; we play good basketball.”

I am very attached to the children, especially the ones I have recruited. It is good to see how they are transformed, from not knowing how to hold a ball, to now making waves on the team.

She admits that some of what she knows has been inspired by Anne Gordon – the only other female basketball couch in the country – who coaches the Kwakwani team, and while she admits that Gordon is an excellent coach, Deborah still basks in the glory that her own team has been able to beat the talented Kwakwani team on a few occasions. She credits her team’s skills on her teaching methods, stating that she gives the players to use their judgement even though there are established goal plans. This helps them to use their initiative and improvise while still being guided by the plan.
Deborah is confident that many of them possess the skills to make it big. She is disappointed that there aren’t programmes in place to offer students as talented as hers the opportunity to access scholarships.
“I don’t think the relevant bodies are investing enough in the players. We don’t send our students to tournaments and give them the exposure. There are also a lot of scholarships available, but we don’t get access to it,” she said. Despite this, Deborah still ensures she provides her players with the necessary tools so that they could be on par should the opportunity of scholarships arise.
Observing the passion with which Deborah speaks of basketball and the children that have become a beloved part of her life, one would forget that catering is actually her first love. A native of the Essequibo Coast, Deborah did her first bit of training at the Johanna Cecilia Secondary School then went on to Fredericks School of Home Economics. Later, she was granted a scholarship and was able to attend the Carnegie School of Home Economics. After working as a cook at the original Coal Pot location on Hincks Street, Deborah moved on her own by offering catering services for several years. Finally, she settled in at her very own canteen in the compound of the Durban Backlands Practical Instruction Centre.
Yet, despite her passion for cooking, few can deny the value that basketball has certainly added to her life. With her full time day job, and her part time coaching, it’s hard to imagine how she does it. But Deborah is fortunate that both of the activities which dominate her life centre on things that she genuinely loves. This therefore gives her the opportunity to give 100 percent as she makes a valuable contribution to the lives of the children she coaches while fulfilling her own dreams.