REVERED WEST Indies fast bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose believes the region can still produce world-class players and return to the “glory days” of West Indies cricket.

Speaking yesterday at the Sports Desk Secondary Schools Symposium at the Cascadia Hotel in St Ann’s, students sought his opinion on the long-lasting decline of the regional team.

Ambrose, who took 405 Test wickets in a 15-year international career, admitted that the situation was “painful.” The 51-year-old, who very recently returned with the regional squad from the ICC World Cup pointed to regional administrators and the WICB (West Indies Cricket Board) in particular for the situation.

“The West Indies Board and the territorial boards have to take most of the blame,” he answered. “Why? Because when we were the best team in the world, nothing was ever done to nurture the talent. We have tons of talented people. The talent is there, but nothing was ever done.

“The Board sat back and they believed we would forever produce great cricketers. Other nations put things in place; academies were set up and they caught up with us, and now they’ve gone way past us, and we are paying a serious price for that. So we need to create a structure and put things in place to nurture the talent, and I’m quite sure if we do that, we’ll see a resurgence of West Indies cricket.”

Perhaps in reference to the inconsistencies of some of today’s leading regional players, Ambrose confessed he was never one to sit down on his laurels. “Always challenge yourself to do better than before,” he declared. “If I took five wickets today, I would not sit back and say, okay, I’m doing good, I’ll settle for that.” Ambrose, along with fellow West Indies legends Sir Andy Roberts and Sir Richie Richardson, were knighted in their native Antigua in February of last year.

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SIR Curtly Ambrose had a simple message for dozens of students at the Cascadia Hotel in St Ann’s yesterday — pursue your full education and work hard to achieve your dreams.

The legendary West Indies fast bowler was making the feature address at the opening of the 16th Secondary Schools Leadership Symposium, for which the theme was “Think big, start small.” The annual event, conceived and organised by “The Sports Desk,” seeks to encourage purpose and excellence in the young people of the nation while they are still attending school.

Throughout his brief address, Ambrose frequently expressed his regret that he did not complete his secondary education. Asked by one student what she should do, as her parents kept pressing her to work hard at school, the six-foot-eight Antiguan replied that she ought do just that, and to please her mother, who he surmised was only seeking her (the student’s) interest.

“Get yourself a proper education,” he insisted, “education, to me, is key to success.”

Ambrose explained that he quit school in Third Form because his father, who resided in the United States, was “not close” to them, and he figured that he (Curtly) needed to get a job and help his mother and six siblings.

Back then, he implied, one could obtain gainful employment with limited education. “It’s not so today,” Ambrose admonished his audience. “You need to go all out to get that education.”

Speaking about the pursuit of excellence, Sir Curtly reflected on his career, reminding the audience that he had never wanted to play cricket.

“But,” he added, “my driving force is I’m a very, very proud man, and everything I do, I want to be the best.” Ambrose said that so it was that four years after he started playing club cricket in Antigua, he was selected for the West Indies in 1988. In 98 Tests, he took 405 wickets at a cost of 8,501 runs.

“I knew they were the best team in the world,” he explained, “and I never wanted to be the weak link. My pride wouldn’t allow me to be second-best.”

Relating his advice to the topic, “think big, start small,” he said everything starts with a dream. “You set yourself goals,” he told his attentive listeners, “and you work extremely hard to achieve those goals. It’s not going to be easy, but if you’re committed, and you make sacrifices and you believe in what you’re doing, at the end of the day you will make it.”

He also advised them to “use negative comments as inspiration” and transform them into positives. “There’s nothing sweeter than proving people wrong.”

As he wound up his address, Ambrose had a parting word of advice that betrayed the gentle side of the man regarded in his time as one of the world’s most fearsome fast bowlers: “When you finally get to the top, always be willing to lend a helping hand to those who are still on the path.”

Ambrose just recently returned from the Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, where he was the West Indies’ bowling coach. He was originally invited by Guardian Sports Editor Valentino Singh to speak last year, but could not attend. The four-day symposium ends on Thursday.

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“PEOPLE need to understand that persons with dyslexia should not be discriminated against.” Olympic sailor Andrew Lewis made this assertion as he spoke last week during the Dyslexia Assistive Technology seminar at the Radisson hotel on Wrightson Road, Port-of-Spain.

“People need to understand that this is what they are going through, this is the reality. They are no less or no more than anyone else; we are all humans. We all need to understand what these people are going through. We need to put ourselves in their shoes as best as possible and spread the message: Dyslexia is something that a lot of people have and they don’t realise and people that do have it give them a chance.”

The two-day seminar focused on technology that would assist persons with learning disabilities, including dyslexia. Students from various schools, along with teachers and parents were briefed on technologies that could assist students and parents and highlighted various applications that would not only assist those with learning abilities in academics, but with daily activities of living and working.

At the Radisson, Lewis called for more seminars such as this one to be conducted in schools.

“I think that more of this needs to take place and more teachers and people in older generations need to understand that this is something that they can’t just leave alone and let kids take care of themselves” said Lewis “They (teachers) need to take initiative and figure out how can we as teachers and parents help these kids learn better and faster.”

Lewis, who competed at the 2012 Olympics laser class had been sailing since he was seven years old, however he admitted that his first love was football, he said that the sport would not take him where he wanted to go — the Olympic arena.

He told Newsday the challenge of dealing with dyslexia has motivated him to become a more determined person.

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The Trinidad and Tobago Football Association extends gratitude to the Ministry of Sport and Sport Company of Trinidad and Tobago SPORTT) for their unwavering support towards the staging of the international friendly between Trinidad and Tobago and Panama at the Ato Boldon Stadium in Couva on Friday night. Panama edged the Soca Warriors 1-0 despite dominating proceedings.

William Wallace, the FA’s National Team’s Operations Director who has been overseeing the TTFA’s relations with the Ministry of Sport and SPORTT, said on Saturday that the cooperation and understanding between both sides has been on point

“On behalf of the TTFA, I would like to extend sincere gratitude to all those entities that contributed to making the friendly international with Panama possible. Special mention must be made of the Ministry of Sport and SPORTT,” Wallace stated.

“I have to express special thanks to the Minister of Sport Mr Brent Sancho and the Permanent Secretary Richard Oliver for sitting with the Football Association to establish a template for future projects. This of course will go a long way towards strengthening relationships and systems as we move forward and look ahead to the CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2018 World Cup qualifiers as well as other assignments for our national teams,” he added.

Wallace also expressed gratitude to SPORTT Acting CEO Adrian Raymond for his efforts over the past couple weeks in ensuring several arrangements went through for the match.

“Mr Raymond has been very supportive as well and he in fact brought his staff out on Saturday to facilitate the payment of match fees to the players,” Wallace mentioned.

Wallace reiterated that while the Government organisations have been heavily supportive of the national football teams, there are still ongoing efforts by the TTFA to source additional support through corporate TT and other partners

TTFA president Raymond Tim Kee, who also expressed his appreciation to the Ministry of Sport and SPORTT, took the opportunity to also thank the visiting Panama team for being formidable opponents for the match to assist in this country’s Gold Cup preparations and he thanked all other supporting staff and contributors for the match including the Local Organising Committee, Ato Boldon Stadium management and stadium staff, Protective Services, the TT Pro League and clubs. He also praised the national team and staff for their encouraging showing against the Panamanians.

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Trinidad and Tobago sprint star Michelle-Lee Ahye won twice in Texas, USA, on the weekend.
At the Texas Relays, Ahye scorched the track in a wind-assisted 10.87 seconds for a commanding victory in the women’s invitational 100 metres dash. She was pushed to the line by a 3.7 metres per second following wind—well above the 2.0 legal limit. American Jessica Young was a distant second in 11.13, while third spot went to Nigeria’s Dominique Duncan (11.34).
Another T&T sprinter, Reyare Thomas finished sixth in the same race in 12.84 seconds.
In the university/college women’s 400m hurdles, University of Arkansas senior Sparkle McKnight topped the field in 56.70 seconds.
Texas State University sophomore, Aaron George produced a wind-aided 7.15 metres leap to finish 11th in the university/college men’s long jump.
And Kayelle Clarke clocked 11.98 seconds for 32nd spot overall in the university/college women’s 100m. The New Mexico Junior College sprinter will represent T&T at the Carifta Games in St Kitts and Nevis, on the weekend.
Ahye was also victorious at the Bobcat Invitational. She won the women’s 100m dash in 11.36 seconds, while Thomas was sixth overall in 11.65.
Dan-Neil Telesford was second fastest in the men’s 200m, the T&T athlete clocking a windy 20.98 seconds. His Wiley College teammate, Quinn-Lee Ralph finished eighth overall in 21.65.
Moriba Morain got to the line in 10.62 seconds to finish first in heat three and third overall in the men’s 100m. There was bronze too for Sterlen Paul, the Abilene Christian University student finishing third in the men’s 800m in one minute, 53.39 seconds.
In California, Holland Cabara stopped the clock at 10.47 seconds to win the Fresno Pacific Sunbird Open men’s 100m dash. Another T&T/College of the Sequoias sprinter, Ashron Sobers was third in 10.68.
Cabara won the 200m in 21.15 seconds to complete the sprint double. His Sequoias teammate, Theon Lewis was second in 21.65, while Sobers (22.13) finished seventh.
And Ohdel James, who is also a Sequoias student, struck gold in the men’s 400m in 47.81 seconds.
In Maryland, Deandra Daniel won the Coppin State Twilight women’s long jump event with a 5.20m leap. Her Coppin State University teammate, Mark London finished second in the men’s 1500m in 4:08.72. And another T&T/Coppin State athlete, Haysean Cowie-Clarke was 11th overall in the men’s 400m in 54.88 seconds.
At the Florida State Relays, Emanuel Mayers clocked 51.46 seconds to earn silver in the men’s 400m hurdles.
Trishelle Leacock was seventh in the women’s 100m dash in 12.64 seconds. The University of Miami freshman also competed in the 200m, finishing 10th overall in 25.46.
At the Puma Outdoor meet, in Arizona, Mikel Thomas finished second in the men’s 200m in 21.47 seconds.
And in Alabama, Peli Alzola was fourth overall in the Crimson Tide Invitational women’s 200m. The Western Kentucky University sprinter got home in 24.57 seconds.

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On the 26^th March 2015, twenty-eight (28) members from various sporting organizations concluded the 21^st Sport Administration Course offered by the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee (TTOC). The modules in the course included: Role and Structure of the IOC, Ethics in Sport and Fair play, Communication, Governance in Sport, Constitution, Strategic Planning, Financial Management and Budgeting, Public Relations, Event Management, Sport Medicine, Marketing, Development Pathway and Sponsorship.

The TTOC’s President, Mr. Brian Lewis, gave a heartfelt send off and urged the participants to use the knowledge gained through the course to manage their sporting organizations more effectively.

After the graduation ceremony, participant Ralph Henry of the BCATT, expressed gratitude on behalf of his colleagues for the opportunity to build their capacity in Sport Administration.

“We would like to thank the Olympic Committee for implementing this initiative with the goal of raising the standards in sport. It was a very refreshing and eye-opening course in which we were forced to measure where we were as administrators in our various sporting disciplines, with the aim of making the necessary adjustments within our structure and our approach in sports administration so that we will be able to raise the standards to the necessary level for us to have a solid & comprehensive sporting environment for our athletes”

Ms. Felix who hails from a small community on the North Coast expressed her experience during the 4-week course.

“You cannot conceive to understand the empowerment I have experienced during this course. The facilitators were excellent and very informative, the environment was conducive for learning and the staff were very friendly and welcoming. Your organisation has surpassed all expectations; truly your organisation is a beacon to what all sporting bodies should exemplify” (Nikeisha Felix, North Coast Sports Academy)

Congratulations to the participants of the ­21^st cohort of the Sport Administration Course:

Nataki Akil Bua (Ventures Hockey Club)

Jean Paul Bartholomew (Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard)

Patrice Charles (Trinidad and Tobago Cadet Force)

Johann Corneille (Trinidad and Tobago Refereeing Association)

Paul De Leon (Racing Pigeon Commission of Trinidad and Tobago)

Shawn Deacon (Newtown Athletics Club)

Stacey Dickson (Big Sepos Volleyball Club)

Kamla Elcock  (Trinidad and Tobago Volleyball Federation)

Nikeisha Felix (The North Coast Sports Academy)

Trevor Flower (Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association)

Innocents Hamilton (Special Olympics Trinidad and Tobago)

Shurland Hartley (West Penn Sports and Culture)

Francis Haynes (Trinidad and Tobago Volleyball Federation)

Ralph Henry (Basketball Coaches Association of Trinidad and Tobago)

Kenny James (Newtown Athletics Club)

Nadia James (UWI Spec)

Dwane John (Caledonia AIA)

Mary Lane (Bike Smith Cycling Club)

Selwyn Luces (West Penn Sports and Culture)

Honory Mc Donald (Ministry of Sport)

Peter Brent Miller (EFA Referees Department)

Jenelle Nedd Ministry of Sport)

Sharon O’Brien (Trinidad and Tobago Football Association/ TT WoLF)

Claire Orr (Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation)

Natalie Paul Morris (Memphis Pioneers)

Inshan Ramsaroop (TSTT)

Anthony Sanchez (Tennis Association T&T)

Dexter Voisin (NAAA)