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A strong call for a cultural and societal shift to the current sporting landscape was made during UTT’s High-Performance Breakfast and Fact-Sharing Meeting and Panel Discussion at the college’s NAPA Campus in Port of Spain on June 25.
The seminar was highlighted by a panel discussion which was entitled Developing Homegrown Talent, with David Nakhid, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, promising a turnaround in the country’s approach to sport from the grassroots level straight up to the policymakers.
“Leaders have become disconnected. What we have to do is get back to the ground. And how do we do that? For a community to thrive and continue to exist, we must have creed. We must have a belief. We don’t have that anymore,” Nakhid said.
The seminar featured contributions from panellists such as former West Indies fast bowler Tony Gray, TT Football Association technical director Anton Corneal, 1976 Olympic gold medallist Hasely Crawford, national women’s youth football coach Ayana Russell, national basketballer Moriba DeFreitas, track and field coach Antonia Burton and Tobias Ottley, head of Elite Athlete Wellbeing at the Sports Company of TT.
The seminar also featured a presentation from Dr Candice Thomas, who gave insight into the academic, sporting and other lifestyle obstacles athletes encounter as they try to reach the peak of their powers.
The panel was also set to feature multiple Olympic medallists Ato Boldon and Keshorn Walcott, but didn’t materialise as advertised.
With the common goal of suggesting methods which can be utilised for TT to get the best from its athletes across various sports, the panel touched on topics such as nutrition, financing, support systems, coaching education and ease – or lack thereof – by which national stadia can be accessed. In the end, the consensus from the panel was that enough was not being done to ensure homegrown athletes are given the best tools during their development phase to then maximise their potential at the senior or international level.
Nakhid shared the sentiments of the panel and opined that sport has been marginalised for far too long.
“Sport just cannot be the bastard child of development in TT. It has to be the front and centre of our development,” the former national footballer said.
“Sport must be the vehicle where we take our children from just being average citizens, which we seem to be content with, to being model citizens who are strong and able to meet any moment in the world.
“Using sport in a constructive way...I think if we do that and you all keep putting pressure on us (the government) with these kinds of workshops where we demand accountability from us...we don’t want the same programmes. A million programmes which produce nothing. A million programmes which just produce political optics. What we want is true development.”
For budding athletes, he said their mentality has to be different from the average man.
“We have to realise that if you want to meet that moment as an athlete, you can’t think like a civilian.
[caption id="attachment_1162884" align="alignnone" width="1024"] Track and field coach Antonia Burton (R) speaks during the University of Trinidad and Tobago’s High-Performance breakfast and fact sharing meeting and panel discussion at the UTT Campus at NAPA, Port of Spain. Also in the photo are Olympic gold medallist Hasely Crawford (C) and football coach Ayana Russell (2R).[/caption]
“We’re not civilians. I didn’t grow up as a civilian. I was an outlier,” he said.
Before that mentality can be instilled, though, Nakhid said there must be a shift to the way society sees sport.
“We need a cultural change. If we want to inform our children, we also need to have a cultural change as parents where we realise this world is changing. In order to reach that moment at college, international or professional level, we need to change the way we think.”
Together with Sport Minister Phillip Watts, Nakhid said there will be a transformation within the school system and the communities.
“We have to take it to the schools because we’re a faith-based country...if we don’t fix the schools and the communities from the ground up...but when you have the ground coming up and the executive coming down, you’ll reach a point where there’s a perceptual threshold. That level of perception where we say ‘we’re here and we’re going to take it forward.’
“It’s something we...bet yuh bottom dollar now, unless they fire me, will be employed as we go forward.”

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