WESTERN BUREAU:
AN INTERVIEW with former Jamaica and West Indies all-rounder, Jimmy Adams, was published in The Gleaner on Monday. It should be read by all Jamaican sporting fans, especially the football fans.
Adams, in my estimation, is one of the most astute sportsmen we have ever had in our long and glorious history of competitive sports and I do not mean just Jamaica but the entire English-speaking Caribbean.
He might not have been the flashiest and most talented but what he lacked in other aspects, he made up with his mental approach.
Two things struck me from the interview, apart from the intelligent and insightful responses. The first was his stance that while many felt he was treated badly, he is of the opinion that "no one owes him anything." How refreshing is that in an era where former national and even club representatives are always heard griping about how they never got their due, financially, of course, after all they had done for the national teams?
THROWN ON THE SCRAP HEAP
It is the opinion of many that Adams was thrown on the scrap heap by the West Indies Board and selectors before his usefulness ran out.
According to a quote attributed to present captain Brian Lara, "one day he was captain, the next day he was not good enough to make the team."
Yet, years later, Adams said he felt no bitterness as he felt he got an opportunity to show his talents.
Cynics may say that Adams was fortunate as he was not born into poverty and had the benefits of money and so was able to make the best of whatever opportunities came his way without much suffering.
Is that true really, however?
How many other sportsmen have had the benefits of money from an early age and never made the grade? Nothing beats hard work and as Adams and others in his position have proven, nothing is handed to you. You must work for everything that will come your way.
AN ASSET TO REGIONAL SPORT
Adams made another great point when he said that if he were approached to play for Jamaica, he would have to turn it down as he would only be getting in the way of the young talents, who are coming through.
No doubt Adams, with his great reservoir of experience, would be an asset to any regional team, even the West Indies team.
Here, however, we have a rarity in Jamaican sports, someone who knows when to say when it's over.
How often we see sportsmen, especially footballers, hanging on when it is painfully obvious to all that their better days are long gone.
The fans are to be blamed as well, for most times they are the ones who pressure the coaches to keep these players, and so impede the progress of others.
Yes, these elder statesmen might be able to give you a good 45 minutes here and there and in football, or, be able to bowl 10 overs a day in a three day cricket match, but will not be able to last even three quarters of the way.
The question now is, do you then keep them on and hope they can win the game for you in that short period, while in the process prevent the next generation from coming through? Or, do you take the decision to send the senior into retirement and give the youngsters the chance they need to take over the reigns and move forward?
