… says Chairman of NSC
‘IN today’s world with its advances in technology, raw talent, no matter how good it is, is not good enough to take you to the top.’
Those were the words of chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) and former national hockey player Conrad Plummer, who was delivering the feature address at the 19th annual awards ceremony for the Rose Hall Town Youth and Sports Club (RHTYSC), held at the J. C. Chandisingh Secondary School last Sunday.
Plummer took the opportunity to touch on three topics which are very close to his heart, namely Education, Sports and Discipline, attracting the undivided attention of his audience which included former West Indies middle-order batsman Basil Butcher and Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Steve Ninvalle.
“Article 29 (a) of the Convention of the Rights of the Child states in part, Education of the child shall be directed to the development of the child’s personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential.
In other words, our duty as adults and educators in our own right is to expose children and by extension adults to activities that would assist that child/adult to develop his personality, talents and mental and physical capabilities to their optimum potential and what better and cheaper way to achieve this, but by using sports as a vehicle to reinforce character and lifestyle traits within that individual,” said Plummer.
He took the time to congratulate the RHTYSC on touching the lives of many individuals through the three topics he spoke on at the ceremony, while referring to their motto ‘In pursuit of excellence through sports and education’.
“Time does not permit me to go into all of the benefits of sports, such as health, recognition, teamwork and acceptance of racial, political and other differences, to the individual, community and the nation as a whole, but if sports is recognised as a vehicle of social intervention, why is it not given the prominence in the child’s life that it should?” asked Plummer.
He continued: “In our society today, our parents, teachers and even our children in most of our schools treat academic education on the one hand and participation of sport on the other hand as being mutually exclusive. Whereas in reality they are not as they are intricately bound and they help one another.
“Education in our system is seen totally being what is gained in the classroom and sport is seen as an unnecessary distraction to this process or vice versa. The broader picture of the development of the individual and the linkages of one with the other are overlooked and to some extent, encouraged.”
Reflecting on the days when the school system fed the clubs and when students represented the country after solely being trained in the respective sport at school, Plummer bemoaned the fact that such is not happening today, while lamenting that there is a struggling club system feeding the schools.
He added that the European Union recognised that sport is a tool that could be used in the educational process and designated 2004 as the European Year of Education through Sports.
But that type of recognition is not given here as it should. Sportsmen/women themselves have also come to believe the myth that education and sport do not mix, when education and sport by their very nature, enjoy a symbiotic relationship.
“Sports help education and education helps sport and it is a truism that sport is good for young people. But we seem to be satisfied with our own individual development only up to low or mediocre level, when a sound primary and secondary education is the least that is required in sport in order to be the very best that you can be,” stated Plummer.
Plummer regaled his audience with an experience of his as a national hockey player in an overseas tournament where he met the Chilean centre forward who spoke good English and was pleased to have someone to practise his English with, while breaking a team curfew, just to expand on the advent of technology in sports.
He stated, “When I introduced myself to him, I found out that he had already known me, even though we had never met. In fact, he knew the entire Guyana team even though we had never encountered each other in any hockey tournament and that was so because he had just finished studying a video of our first match.
“That was years ago and today with technology having improved to such an extent, talent alone is not sufficient to make it to the top. Mental and physical aptitudes and attitudes are essential. Remember if you are serious about making it to the top, you need to build up your concentration and your mental capacity and only a sound secondary education allows you to do that.”
“Education, he said, “is essential for all athletes but more so for all those that make it big. With the IPL in cricket and transfer fees in football being what they are, our athletes must be able to market themselves and also be able to hold onto the money they make.”
He then focused on Discipline, which he said is a trait that is missing in most of our athletes’ lives, whether it is on the field or off it.
“Recently I was talking to the Honourable Minister of Culture, Youth and Sport about his meeting and the discussions he had with the Lady Jaguars football team, most of whom are based overseas, and he mentioned that the individual players who were released by their coaches to play for Guyana, were given a schedule of exercises and drills that they were to keep up with unsupervised and they were actually doing so.
“Compare this with another instance which left an indelible impression on my mind and that was many years ago, when a Canadian coach who was eminently qualified and was at the time the coach of the Canadian Under-19 team, came to these shores to coach our national hockey team and while speaking with him midway through his stint, he told me that Guyana has talent, but they lacked discipline when it came to drills.”
Plummer went back to world renowned Jamaican sprinter Merlene Ottey who in her biography entitled ‘Unyielding Spirit’, states that athletes need to master four Ds which are: Discipline, Determination, Dedication and Disappointment, in order to be a success.
“While time does not permit me to go into all of the Ds, it is sufficient for me to say that once our athletes can cultivate the kind of discipline and determination that she spoke about, then those attributes would overlap into their everyday lives.
“Not only would success be guaranteed, but this disciplined attitude coupled with a sound education would help them deal with fame and fortune when it comes and as a sports enthusiast, I often become despondent when I see talented individuals not endeavouring to be the very best that they can be and beyond,” said Plummer.
In closing, Plummer left an appreciative audience with a quote which was shared with him years ago and which he found to be useful in both his professional and sporting life, which is “What I am is God’s gift to me. What I make of myself is my gift to God.