Windies Problems Mirror C�bean Society
Sun, Sep 5, '04
The last three West Indies coaches, Andy Roberts, Malcolm Marshall and Roger Harper, have lamented the fact that the younger generation cricketers are no longer willing to listen or learn.
The premise of this article is the current underperformance of the West Indies cricket team is not the primary issue; rather the sub-par performance of our cricketers in international cricket is symptomatic of a much more deep rooted sociological issue, in that the average West Indian male has lost his way within the evolving Caribbean civilization and the West Indies cricket team just represents a microcosm of what is happening, or not happening, to the archetypal sub-35 year old male within the wider Caribbean society.
While this trend has been suspected for a while, a demographical review of the equivalent of the Advanced GCE Level (CAPE) results, in Barbados for example, will show that while 27 students excelled in 2004, i.e. achieving scholastic excellence, of this number only 3 were male. In other words, less than 12% of the individuals that excelled at this level were male. Such a finding would strongly suggest that the Caribbean male has lost his way and is now finishing a distant second, at least academically, to his female contemporary.
This fact should not be dismissed as some idiosyncrasy of the laws of probability but should be appreciated for what it really is. Plain and simple, while males represent approximately 50% of Barbados? and the Caribbean?s student population they are much less likely to succeed at the tertiary level academically, when compared to their female counterparts.
From time immemorial, the West Indian male been perceived by those in close proximity as this strapping, indomitable, inexorable, invincible sub-specie of human whose aspirations and accomplishments were inexhaustible. The West Indies cricket team of the 1980s personified this image. Regrettably, the current West Indies team fails to live up to this icon for the existing crop of West Indian cricketers, when compared to their world beating precursors, are merely a shadow of their pre-1990 predecessors.
There are a number of issues that have contributed to the marginalization and emasculation of the pre-teenage and teenage West Indian boys, i.e. the catchment population that supplies West Indian cricket, for more than 20 years. Below I have highlighted some of the historical and psychosocial issues that have contributed to endemic asthenia in an alarming number of our young West Indian males/ cricketers:
1. Co-ed education: Over the last 25 to 30 years a number of traditionally male-only schools, within the Caribbean, have become de-segregated by becoming co-educational. While I suspect that such a move was intended to benefit ALL, especially the pre-1980 disenfranchised girls, however, this move effectively directly exposed the impressionable Caribbean male, at a relatively young age, to a more mentally mature and focused feline contemporary.
The amalgamation of the sexes, in the secondary school system, has resulted in negative fall-out for the male, including potential West Indian cricketers. Not only has co-education undermined the confidence of the young male but anecdotal evidence suggests that it has contributed to producing an increasing number of dysfunctional males. Such males often end up becoming parasites within the society by virtue of the fact that an ever increasing number of our young males are pursuing a life of crime and drugs.
2. The liberalization of West Indian women: There is no-one who lived in the Anglophone Caribbean who could deny the fact that there was institutionalized discrimination against West Indian women even in the post-colonial era. In a coordinated approach, there were a number of women?s organizations that coalesced to fight the traditional gender imbalances and empower the pre-1975 disenfranchised West Indian female.
Once unshackled, the sky became the limit for West Indian females; in that traditionally male exclusive areas were no loner off-limits to West Indian females. For example, more and more of our boys? secondary school teachers are school mistresses as opposed to school masters; the psychosocial implications of such remains unappreciated by far too many within the Caribbean society. As a consequence of such a social evolution ? the average school mistress is much less likely to tolerate a sweaty, untidy and odiferous male in her class room when compared to the school master of yesteryear.
Consequentially, many of today?s secondary school males, in order to escape the wrath of his school mistress, has become more focused on maintaining his image and is less likely to participate in sports, including cricket, during the school breaks, when compared to a school boy of a mere generation ago.
3. Challenging authority: In the 1960s and 1970s the Caribbean?s more vociferous and eloquent social-activist ? e.g. CLR James, Stokely Carmichael (KWAME TURE), Rafique Shah, Lloyd Best, Trevor Munroe, Walter Rodney, Ralph Gonsalves, George Odlum, Rosie Douglas, Maurice Bishop, Tim Hector, et al beseeched the youth, especially the young males of the Caribbean region, to challenge the status quo.
While the young males were encouraged to reject any and every thing that was a vestige of an often repugnant and pernicious colonial past, however, they were not simultaneously given a lucid and practical alternative to what they were rejecting. An unanticipated fallout from the social revolution of the 60s and 70s was the birth of the ?rude boy? phenomenon.
Our testosterone overloaded males, as opposed to our comparatively accommodating oestrogen driven females, often mistook the message of social activism to mean that hard work was no longer ?cool? and that all voices of authority, societal morays, rules and laws were misconceived to be an anathema to the embryonic, malleable and evolving Caribbean civilization.
We have seen and continue to see an alarming number of males, from all strata of society, living out the ?rude boy? image; they are revolting, with disastrous consequences, against most forms of authority within their very own homes and the society. However, it must be noted that a disproportionate number of the ?rude boys? come from homes with no authority figures ? i.e. no father figure.
4. Other ? Drugs/ HIV/ North Americanization of the Caribbean society: All these factors have served to varying degrees, distract our male youth.
The Caribbean archipelago links the major supplier (South America) and consumer (USA) of cocaine and our island states are used to northwardly relay billions in dollars of narcotics annually.
While in transit, in the respective island states, a significant quantity of the hallucinogenic drugs makes its way into the local community.
The local monetary spin offs from the narco-trade are of such magnitude that I honestly don?t see any Caribbean country, apart from oil-rich Trinidad, which is capable of controlling this distressing problem. For a Caribbean politician to systematically tackle drugs, he/ she is not only placing his/ her respective lives on the line but they also run the risk of committing political suicide by undermining their financial support for future political campaigns.
The scourge of HIV/ AIDS has affected our youth more so than any other sector of our Caribbean community. Some regional and international health organizations estimate that up to 10% of the Caribbean?s population, between the ages of 15 and 25, may be HIV positive. The social fall-out from the HIV/ AIDS scourge touches nearly everyone within these close knit Caribbean communities; because while 10% of the population is directly being disseminate d by the disease, the other 90% who are standing on the fringe, are their family and friends.
The unrestricted and unregulated introduction of Cable TV and Network TV into a significant number of Caribbean households, has not only served to distract and in some instances baby-sit our young ones but North American TV?s pedaling of basket ball, American football and base ball has provided an unwelcome alternative to ?king cricket?.
With the introduction of the Internet, electronic games, etc. we have effectively seen a reduction in the time spent on the cricket field by our budding young cricketers.
North American rap musicians are often worshiped by many of our male youth; the young fanatics spend a disproportionate quantum of their parents? hard earned cash on the ear drum deforming, mind controlling, violence promoting, female denigrating, uncensored rap music. Additionally, far too many of our male youth attempt to emulate their favorite musical stars by dressing and behaving like them. In an interesting study published in the March 2003 edition of American Journal of Public Health a link between the listening to rap music and societal violence was established.
In summation, the psychosocial problems faced by West Indies cricket include:
1. Our cricketers are coming from an increasingly smaller pool of males in recent years.
2. The males that are coming forward to play cricket, at the highest level, are on average less confident than the males of previous generations.
3. The young males playing cricket are spending less time working on their technical weaknesses.
4. The average cricketer is de-conditioned re listening to authority.
5. Nurturing young cricketers from a co-education system goes against the traditional ethos within the region; in that most of our previous greats came from all-male schools.
6. Cricket is increasingly losing its luster and lure among the youth within the Caribbean.
7. Drugs/ HIV/ the unregulated importation of the North American culture has negatively impacted on the young Caribbean male and by extension the game of cricket.
PROPOSALI?m proposing that structured and systematic steps need to be urgently taken in order to rectify the sad state of affairs within West Indies cricket. These steps shall be reviewed under the captions of short-term, medium-term and long-term:
Short-term: Far too many of the current stock of West Indian cricketers are tainted with an unheralded sense of paroxysmal apathy and ?don?t careishness?; however, we have no choice but to work with these very cricketers in order to save the Caribbean?s ?favorite pastime?. This is a most challenging, frustrating and depressing situation.
ALL current West Indian cricketers need to be subjected to a thorough psychoanalysis. While the expertise exists within the Caribbean for carrying out such an evaluation, however, I have no aversion to the use of extra-regional expertise. In order to acquire accurate and relevant information, it is imperative that the information garnered be treated with the strictest of confidence and remain within the bounds of health provider-patient relationship.
By adhering to such, this exercise is more than likely to achieve constructively positive results. In order to ensure the confidentiality of this exercise, all cricketers who participate must be given the written assurance that their personal information will not become a future front-page story. If such a contract is breeched the WICB, its officers and the psychologist should feel the full wrought of the law.
The psychoanalyst, post-evaluation, must have the latitude and power to initiate the appropriate treatment modalities.
The cricketers, their coaches and manager must be given the tools to recognize stress while at the same time they must be given the rudiments re its self-management.
The WICB needs to immediately employ a batting, bowling and fielding coach. The head coach should be chosen from amongst these. Each of these coaches will be mandated to develop personalized coaching plans for each West Indian cricketer ? such a plan should aim to address their weaknesses and develop their strengths.
The implementation of performance incentive bonuses for our Test and ODI cricketers must be made a priority. The cricketers with the best work ethic, within the region, must be offered professional contracts.
Medium-Term: All future West Indian cricketers must be means tested in order to determine if he has the right attitude.
Regardless of the quantum of ?God-given? talent that a cricketer may possess, if he does not possess the right attitude and work ethic he should never be given the chance to don the maroon colours.
The positive characteristics that a cricketer must possess must include: (a) ambition, (b) a willingness to learn, (c) respect for authority, (d) the willingness to work hard at their game, especially the areas that are defective, (e) the possession a fighting spirit, (f) an excitement and enthusiasm every time they walk onto a cricket field (g) a sense of self worth, (h) a deep sense of appreciation for the history of the West Indies game and (i) an attitude that lends itself to a cohesive team spirit.
Starting at the youngest level in West Indies cricket these characteristics must be identified and when absent or deficient must be inculcated in our young and upcoming cricketers.
Once these young cricketers are identified they should be sponsored by the WICB, in that all their cricket gear must be provided and a system must be put in place that would expose these youngsters to the best in coaching staff, facilities and equipment in their respective countries.
These youngsters will have their school reports closely scrutinized on a term by term basis, any infractions will be investigated and those with significant or recurrent infractions, in or out of school, will be removed from the WICB sponsored program.
In each of the territories the WICB will have contracts with nutritionist, doctors and exercise therapist, etc.; each expert will avail themselves to these future West Indies cricketers.
WICB must sponsor summer camps, bringing the talented cricketing youth together under one roof for a minimum of 8 weeks. At these camps further evaluation would be carried out re their cricket talent, general attitude and work ethic. Some of the current and past stars West Indies cricket will be invited to attend these camps. Motivational classes would be conducted. Fitness and coaching will be emphasized.
Long-Term: This will be by far the most challenging facet of the plan.
A comprehensive psychosocial rectification plan needs to be urgently developed that would primarily address the social malaise that afflicts far too many of our male youth throughout the length and breath of the Caribbean. This is going to take a Herculean effort on the part of all the social partners within the Caribbean.
Unfortunately, I?m not convinced that there is the will or vision within the Caribbean?s prevailing political circles that would be needed to put the tools in place that would ultimately rectify such a regional pandemic.
Henceforth, the initiation and agitation for such change is going to have to begin with persons like you and I, the everyday citizenry of the region.
The specific steps dealing with this all-encompassing issue is beyond the scope of this article or the expertise of its author.
As a matter of record, this article should not be interpreted by any one as a veiled attempt to denigrate the achievements of the Caribbean?s fairer sex, including our female scholars; on the other hand, it should be seen as an attempt to highlight and provide some working solutions to the heartbreaking plight of the quintessential young West Indian male and by extension the current and future West Indian cricketer.
At this time we need to ask ourselves if changing the captain is likely to result in a sustainable turn around in the fortunes of West Indies cricket. While in a previous article I was one who called for wholesale change in West Indies cricket, however, after careful reflection I strongly believe that the removal of Brian Lara at this juncture as captain, will not result in a significant about turn in the fortunes of Indies cricket over the short or medium term; for the problems faced by Caribbean cricket are profound and not simply one of defective or deficient on-the-field or off-the-field leadership.
Finally, the WICB?s band-aid approach to rectifying West Indies cricket problems needs to become a thing of the past and the WICB needs to place visionaries in their halls of power; individuals who are capable of seeing the bigger picture. The time to act is now.
