By Elroy Stephney

IT has been five years since the passing of Essequibo’s elder statesman of cricket, Courtney Gonsalves, who formerly resided in Richmond on the Essequibo Coast and thereafter migrated to Canada where he passed away in 2013 at the age of 63 years.

He was not only a fitting role model but he also stood as an institution of communicable knowledge and profound compassion.

Cherished memories will remain that I was privileged to share with the revered coach, since our bonded relationship began and was formulated from being a rookie/youngster excited to learn my trade like so many others to a mature player who was always eager to utilise his expert advice.

Ever since then our partnership remained unbroken until he was chosen for higher service and at a venue where he will love the quicker pitches and angels who will not spill his catches. Instead a prophetic welcome seems inevitable for a distinguished champion of the game.

In retrospection, Gonsalves has made a lasting impression on my life; not unexpectedly though, I know that he would have been disappointed with my cricketing returns given his dedication and energy, inspiration and courage that he would have impartially and skilfully imparted upon me during my apprenticeship.

In fact as I emotionally reflect now, I believe that at some point he had become impatient after I was repaying him with consistently poor results. Yet he never deserted or relinquished the herculean challenge to keep motivating us until the essence of a sweet victory.

It was never a smooth riding for him; from being ruthlessly denied a fairer share as a national fast bowler when he was on top of his game to coaching an Essequibo team that lacked the resources and impetus, which inevitably would have caused much pain, embarrassment and disappointment generally.

Then there was the advancement at the time by the powers that be to attempt to debar Essequibo from playing again at the inter-county level because of the depressing performances.

It would have broken his heart had this happen and it only propelled him instead to work even harder and for longer hours, convinced that he could have undone the shackles of the Cinderella syndrome that had poisoned the morale of players and even the faithful fans of Essequibo.

And so he began instilling within us the pride, will and passion to charter a new course. Equipped with his vast experience, technical prowess and compelling authoritative instincts, Essequibo began not to participate anymore but to fiercely compete with the giants from Demerara and Berbice.

He was proudly and deservedly voted as the Coach-of-the-Year by the Guyana Cricket Board (GCB) in 1998 not in recognition of his already outstanding coaching ability but the transformation and tremendous impact that he had made towards the revival of Essequibo’s cricket and its fortunes.

North Essequibo were to become the Team-of-the-Year also in 1998, winning every national competition against teams from the other counties. Essequibo were also to gain a historic and memorable victory against Berbice in a four-day inter-county match during that same period.

He would have been proud of those achievements and the gains made to lift Essequibo’s cricket from the doldrums. He was fond of also holding his charges in high esteem and adored us; the likes of such players as Rovendra Mandolall who was his favourite batsman, Lawrence Farnum, Latchmikhant Narine, yours truly, Dinesh Joseph whom he believed should have played Test cricket, Beesham Seepersaud, David Wallace and Clain Williams among others.

I must acknowledge most emphatically too that he significantly contributed in shaping the careers of some of our more celebrated cricketers in Guyana including the great Shivnarine Chanderpaul who is to be conferred with a Honorary Doctor of Law, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lennox Cush, Travis Dowlin, Mahendra Nagamootoo and Reon King; all of whom he shared a very special relationship.

Such fatherly affection never waned since he will be remembered as Essequibo’s pride and joy during an era of fast bowling supremacy, an idealist who conquered mediocrity and a strategist of immense competence.

He also had a colossal impact on his son Ian Gonsalves who had the distinction of representing Guyana at the youth level, while his elder sons Roy and the late Gary Gonsalves were also competitive players. His youngest son Nicholas Gonsalves can attest to having his father’s rich cricketing blood if not his skills while his daughter Sabrina Gonsalves’ knowledge of the game cannot be understated.

Coach Gonsalves is still sorely missed but his ideals will live on as a guiding principle of someone who would have achieved success over adversity while defying the odds to place Essequibo on the cricketing map.