By:Curtis Morton
The 12th annual Emmanuel Richards Football summer camp, got on the way on Monday 11th July at the St.Thomas’ Primary School.
The opening ceremony was chaired by Richards himself and he also invoked God’s presence on the proceedings.
In his opening remarks, he admonished the over thirty participants to take the camp seriously, as he noted that previous participants in the program, have gone on to represent St.Kitts and Nevis at the under 17 and under 23 levels.
He asked them to respect themselves and listen to their coaches and their peers. He also impressed on them that they can eventually make lots of money from Football.
Public Relations Officer at the Nevis Social Security office, Walter Morton, warned the participants that the camp would not be all about fun but that they must take time out to learn the skills that were being taught. He however told them that there will be opportunities to form new friendships.
He congratulated Mr. Richards for his hard work, sacrifice and passion and spoke to the children about the importance of team work.
He emphasized that there is no I in TEAM WORK..
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Sports, Mr. Keith Glasgow, also used the opportunity to commend Mr. Richards on his many years of implementing the program.
He told the participants that they may not yet know which sporting activity they may make their main focus but asked them to take the opportunity to learn the skills of the game of Football, as they do not know as yet in which sport they may eventually excel.
He noted that the camp will not only teach them Football skills but stated that they will learn very important values such as respect; patience; friendliness; discipline and responsibility, among others.
Also addressing the participants, was Mr. Raymond RAYBO Smith, who represented the SKNFA.
He commenced by asking the children to name their favourite international Footballer and then brought greetings on behalf of President Johnson and the entire SKNFA executive.
He indicated that the activity is fully endorsed by his association and stated that Football is more than a game –it is a very big business.
He also told the children that the game of Football will teach them discipline.
Miss Avelyn Browne of the Development Bank of St.Kitts and Nevis, then encouraged the participants to respect their peers and have fun. She also congratulated Mr. Richards for a great program and officially declared the program open.
Mr. Emmanuel Richards then presented the vote of thanks and listed the sponsors of the program for this year:
Development Bank of St.Kitts and Nevis; LEFCO; Nevis Spring Water; Nevis Bakery; CIBC First Caribbean Bank; NAGICO; NEVLEC; Bank of Nevis; Nevis Credit Union; Social Security and K’s Electrical Services.
The participants were then taken to the adjoining play field where they commenced learning the basic skills of the game, under the guidance of assigned coaches.