The joy of 20 of the nation's leading cricketers is probably uncontrollable as the passionate lover and Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs, honourable Anil Roberts announced pay packets to them at a recent press conference.This is a clear indication of a sport lover taking the initiative to place the potentially talented players into a situation that has all the ingredients to produce some fine national players for the future.Close to three million dollars annually for the sport is tantamount to putting your money where your mouth is, and the decision places the administrators of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) into a demanding position for ultimate success in the future with all levels of the game.
I would assume that this gesture will be accompanied by salary packages for coaches and managers, all of whom form an integral part of the "forward thrust movement" for the game of cricket.No doubt this message has lit up the minds and hearts of the number of team sports nationals whose time and effort are similar to this group and in some cases are more in line with international status with their sport.
I can literally feel the itches coming through the minds of the administrators of football, hockey, swimming, track and field, netball, basketball, and volleyball with bated breath on the order in which this precedent will take.This very courageous decision by the minister and by extension, his entire cabinet, may have at last brought to the fore the importance of sport in our society where almost every kid aspires to become national performers in the future.
Let me also admit that the task of choosing the names will be more of a headache than the dispatch of the funds to the lucky ones, especially when these same organisations are always in search of funds for the local competitions, plus the employment of staff, the maintenance of venues, the escalating cost of equipment and the qualified coaches who must be the key to success.With reluctance, I can say that many of the national associations are not equipped with the management and financial skills to operate in a fully professionally sport environment, hence the reason why the Minister may look even further down the road for some form of education to bring the amateur administrators into the loop.
While I could see a numerous amount of government-run companies taking issue with this venture, possibly because of the number of failed requests for marginal increases in their salaries; plus the hundreds of qualified citizens whose years of study at University and still cannot find a job in this country, the acid test between proving the value of sport as a form of youth development across the land with the academic professionals making a claim for improving the quality of personnel which is lacking in almost every NGO in the country.
What is interesting about the Minister's attempt to create elite athletes across the board, is that the benefit of the development of student athletes in our society can probably provide the answer to both areas of importance in our nation.A sportsman and sportswoman without any form of substantial education, could mean an uncertain future at the end of their playing days, which could be shortened by serious injury or loss of form, and this can be like giving a guy a fish to eat as opposed to buying him a line to make his catch.Knowing what transpires on the political arena, although I am not in that category, there will be many to challenge the minister, whose heart and soul was always about sport and academics, as he himself has gone that route successfully.
So while I am happy for the fortunate ones who have received the inaugural grants of employment in the field of cricket, here is an option which can be equally as effective and twice as meaningful to those that will take a cue from this position.With the advent of free tertiary education on our doorsteps at all universities in the land, the time is ripe for someone, even the Minister himself, to look closely into the American form of producing student athletes, which has done wonders for people like Michael Jordan, Emmit Smith, and hundreds of persons whose brains are filled with knowledge of some work related profession and their bank accounts are overflowing with the cash they all wished for when they were young.
Sometimes, we tend to treat suggestions and/or decisions like the one which was bravely demonstrated by Minister Roberts, as the messenger in search of political kudos but it will be wise to study the message carefully and see how it can become a step in the right direction for the premier aim of creating a comfort zone for those who wish to make sport and academics viable to self and country in the long term.In that way, there will be less favours and more achievements for our people. Good luck, Roberts.