In one year's time, Scotland will stage the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
As much as the Commonwealth Games is known as the friendly games, it's very much at the high end or elite-level end of the sport spectrum. There are those who argue that Commonwealth Games isn't as important as a World Championship. In the world that the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC) occupies, all Games under the auspices of the Olympic Committee have significance and importance. If only for the simple fact that you have to creep before you walk.
The 2014 Commonwealth Games has a crucial role in this country's quadrennial effort which culminates at the Rio 2016 Olympics. Next year T&T will participate at three events that fall under the exclusive authority of the T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC)–the Youth Olympics, Commonwealth and Central America and Caribbean Games.
In the quest for ten Olympic gold medals by 2024, stakeholders must embrace the strategic reality that Olympic-type multi-sport events such as the ones that will be held next year are important sign posts. Between now and 2024 there can be no ambiguity. Results at Youth Olympics, Youth Commonwealth, CAC, Commonwealth and Pan Am games will be an indicator of likely success at the Olympic Games.
A fascinating aspect of the sport world is the contradictory but yet complimentary mindset that is needed when goal setting. Elite or high-performance sport and sport for all have different approaches, means and ends. In the absence of a long-term athlete development framework that acts as a guide, a national sport organisation can misdirect and focus on the wrong objectives.
Less money doesn't necessarily mean that you are at a disadvantage. There is no shortage of energy, effort and passion.
On the elite end, the goal isn't to compete it's to dominate. To be a pacesetter. We don't just want to be in the race we want to win the race. A passion for excellence and an obsession to be the best aren't necessarily a negative. Why put a limit to your ambition and passion? Fear is not something we should run away from. Instead we should challenge traditional thinking. We need to be more goal oriented and pay more attention to the target than the problem and value the results.
When faced with trying to accomplish a big goal one of the most daunting questions is: "Where do I start?" It begins with the attitude that says impossible is nothing. We will make it happen. Success is not for the weak-minded or the weak-hearted. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Invariably our life decisions come down to a choice. Are we motivated by fear or faith?
Most people prefer to play it safe for fear of failure. In the world of sport, as it is in life, it's our daily decisions and habits that ultimately provide the outcome.
For some on the twin Island Republic, world class is an unrealistic dream and fantasy. Whatever world-class successes we achieve in the world of sport is an aberration–a stroke of luck or that some fairy godfather made it happen.
I don't share that belief. This country, long ago, proved that our sportsmen and women are world class in sport and deserved to be on the podium. Our challenge is to simply believe that we can do it again and again. It's essential that we focus on what we want rather than what we don't want. It's about starting from where you are at using the resources you do have.
Brian Lewis is the president of the T&T Olympic Committee.
Visit http:// www.ttoc.org for more information on Olympism and the Olympic movement.
