THE EDITOR, Sir:
I SEND my congratulations to Allan Rae, Herb McKenley and George Prescod, first, for attaining their 80th birthdays - a tremendous achievement in these days when health and/or personal security is continuously threatened; and second, for their respective contributions to Jamaican athletes.
I do not know what steps we in Jamaica have taken to memorialise their achievements, not only on the playing field but also off it. Each of them has attempted to 'give back' to those who have come after them, often without any reward, except for the satisfaction of fostering excellence in a sport. Not very many of our retired athletes have sought to do what these have done.
I recall that, as a young boy, I eagerly digested the information that was fed to me by foreign experts (usually books written by former athletes). At that time there were no 'how-to' books written by Caribbean star athletes. I have not seen any even today, except those autobiographical accounts which teach us nothing about the fundamentals of the various sports.
I do believe that these three illustrious celebrants are well qualified to impart that knowledge that is so important to impressionable young athletes. I hope that they will do so, before long.
I am, etc.,
ALLAN ALBERGA
aalb849728@aol.com
Via Go-Jamaica
