Be wary of the pitfalls of success

NOTHING INVIGORATES patriotism like war or sports. Since we, in Jamaica, have no desire to engage in war, let us revel in the uncanny ability of this small nation to continuously perform well above our size in sport. What our female athletes treated us to as our 61st Independence Day gift on the football fields and netball courts may only be matched by what can be expected at the World Athletics Championship in Budapest.

The euphoria of success is felt by a handful of countries. Making it to the round of 16 in the Women’s Football World Cup, or reclaiming the bronze in World Netball, is no mean feat.

Many countries, much larger than us, would give a lot to have such an achievement. What it does to lift a country’s morale, to stir patriotism and to gain notice by others, cannot be achieved by speeches or organised celebrations. It’s a politician’s dream!

But, before embarking on what to make of this, allow me to point out another regional achievement, that of our Under-19 male cricketers, who won the 50-over and three-day competition for the first time in 14 years. I mention them, not because their achievement went unnoticed, at least by those who could publicly congratulate them, but because they achieved this in spite of little local competition or support, in a sport that is being rapidly forgotten in Jamaica.

While we revel in the glory of the girls’ achievements, one cannot help but notice the difference between the teams; a wholly home-grown netball team and a largely imported football team. Nothing wrong with either, it’s what you do with it that matters.

The Sunshine Girls had reached these heights in 2007. Since then, the standing dipped, with Jamaica always in the top five but not often in the top three. Professional international leagues flourished while our local leagues suffered with decreasing sponsorship and facilities. Our rich, local talent pool allowed many players to play overseas professionally. Not long ago, our top netballers had to play professional basketball or volleyball to earn a living in sports. The international exposure has no doubt nurtured the talent and allowed them to share it locally. And, with a receptive and respected coach, this has augured well for the Sunshine Girls. As new talent is unearthed, the path set by our girls in the leagues of Australia, New Zealand and England should pave the way for them to hone their skills in those leagues as well. Sounds familiar?

Not much different to our male cricketers in the halcyon days.

And, if today’s stars can become tomorrow’s coaches, qualifying themselves to the highest levels, versed with strategy, technology and science, the future of netball could be rosy for country and players. But, if we rest on our laurels, with no local development of facilities and opportunities for improvement, netball could go the way of cricket.

Football decided to take a top-down approach, gathering the best footballers (male or female) who have any bit of Jamaican in them, and putting together a team. It seemed to have worked for the Reggae Girlz, who performed beyond expectations and beyond the resources meted out to their preparation. The Girlz’ results would justify this strategy, having made two consecutive World Cups and progressed beyond the preliminary rounds in this one.

However, this is at the expense of local talent and development. Whereas not having a local female league is reason enough not to develop, on the other hand, it must be disheartening for the local Boyz to be consistently overlooked for persons who have not sweat locally.

The only way this model can be sustainable, successful and acceptable locally is if there is a tangible link to local development. The pathway again has to be the unearthing of local talent, nurturing it with improved local facilities and modern coaching techniques, and progressing to improvement in the highest leagues around the world. The overseas players can be an asset if they are part of local development through involvement in local competitions or camps.

As a nation, we must rally around all donning our colours, but we must all be aware of how easy it is to slip to mediocrity if we do not have well-reasoned and resourced pathways. The absence of the West Indies in the upcoming Cricket World Cup is a stark reminder of how it can go wrong. Anticipation of success in Budapest is based on how athletics does it right.

While we revel in the successes of our girls, let’s see which path each sport takes.

Sport Pulse and Sport Matters are fortnightly columns from The UWI Faculty of Sport. We look forward to your continued readership. Dr Akshai Mansingh is dean, Faculty of Sport, UWI. He can be reached at akshai.mansingh@uwi.edu