Legendary football coach Bertille St Clair was honoured on Saturday night at Shaw Park Complex, Tobago. St Clair was presented with awards from his students and a painting of himself from Professor Frankie Mohammed. In his address, Selwyn Melville said it would take T&T generations decades to understand and fully appreciate the contribution coach St Clair made to the development of the sport and to T&T.
Melville said St Claire was able to pass on his techniques to others in the field.
St Clair, 84, was first honoured on Friday and it continued through on Saturday and yesterday in the presence of some of former national and other players he coached, students, family and friends when a plaque in his honour was unveiled at the Signal Hill Secondary School where coached for more than two decades.
St Clair was an English and Physical edication teacher at the school for many years up until his retirement. He also coached the national teams of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and was in charge of Trinidad and Tobago at the Gold Cup in 1998 and 2000.
The three days of activities organized by the Principal and staff of the Signal Hill Secondary School, in collaboration with the school’s former footballers, St. Clair’s Coaching School and former national players of the 1980s. St Clair told Guardian Media Sports that he was overjoyed. He said, “ I am very happy and I want to congratulate the guys who came up with the Idea and done it and they say it is always better when you could accept it, don’t wait until you move on. Congratulations to the guys and the Signal Hill Staff. I’m feeling great.”
Pamela Nicholson, a former Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs in the NAR regime of 1985-1990 was present at the ceremony.
Nicholson said that under her tenure she was responsible for all senior secondary schools getting involved in football. Before that, it was only colleges playing football in the likes of Fatima, CIC, QRC, Presentation. It was colleges football.
Nicholson said she got the support for Alvin Corneal to ensure the programme was expanded at the secondary level.
She said, “Mr St Clair has done a great job for football in Tobago. He had a coaching school. I again was responsible for Mr St Clair coming to work in Signal Hill.”