Let me begin by saying that in no way am I pulling down our T&T athletes. I hold to the view that many of them did us proud in the past, functioning in the capacity of their developed skill. Yet, over the years, I have become convinced that there is a difference between a "gift" in a person and someone who may love something, have some skill in it and developed this skill with robust training.
I sincerely believe that God does put "gifts" in us for His purpose. That gift, if we respond correctly, will cause us to be ahead of the pack consistently. We all are not like this. Let me name two individuals that I believe are gifted right here in T&T: Brian Lara and Dwight Yorke. That is why they excelled the way they did. Let me go further with Usain Bolt and Michael Phelps. Now tell me, is that normal? It is that "gift" in them, properly managed, manifesting itself with victory after victory.
When I look at our present athletes what I am seeing are individuals having a hunger for their respective discipline, training hard and simply doing their best. Now, again, I must say I am not crying down any of them.
I still believe that we need to give them all our support. But the reality is that I am not seeing any of them really standing out above the norm nor am I detecting a real "gifting" in them. Believe me, at competitive level such as the Olympics, that makes a world of difference.
Please, let us not be hard on our athletes. The fact is that they may be at their peak, they do not have any more in them.
What we can do is hope and pray that we would be blessed with some naturals in years to come where winning is just a way of life for them. I wait for those days but will support what we have at present.
Arnold Gopeesingh,
San Juan