Pro League player development seminar called a success.
By: Joel Villafana.[/size]
Attorney at Law Dave Williams hailed the recent Player Development Seminar put on by the T&T Pro League last Friday at the Crown Plaza Hotel as success. Mr. Williams was the main speaker at the seminar and addressed the over 80 local players from professional clubs in the T&T Pro League. His main focus had to do with the nature of the ‘Pro League Player contract’ and the ‘Player image rights’.
He covered topics such as—
(1) Understanding the rights and obligations of the player with respect to Clubs.
(2) The importance of the athlete knowing how to communicate (media).
(3) What constitutes a contract.
(4) How can a contract be terminated.
(5) Compensation and.
(6) Image rights of players.
Mr. Williams told ttproleague.com afterwards, as far as he was concerned, the seminar was a huge success and encouraged the League to pursue further seminars of this nature for the benefit of its players.
"From the players standpoint, there is no doubt in my mind this seminar was a success—I believe the players were able to understand how a contract works and they now know some of their rights as a player."
"Prior to the seminar, I gleaned some of the players were signing contracts, not fully understanding what they were getting into, most players are only concerned about the bottom line of how much they are to be paid and not taking the time to understand the terms and conditions of the said contract."
The attorney at law, stressed if the League is to continue to develop and grow, its players must educate themselves as to what are their rights as players; he commended the T&T Pro League for taking this initiative, saying it will only benefit the players, and raise the profile of the League.
"Not only is this a step in the right direction, there needs to be continuity in this area of educating locally based professional players—a more in-depth analysis needs to be done assessing the needs of the players and their education," said Mr. Williams.
He also stated the clubs have a serious responsibility in this matter and should not feel threatened by their players becoming aware of their rights—"If the League’s players understand the concept of their image rights, it will only benefit their clubs—and the local clubs should assist players not only with their development on the field, but also in terms of their academics, as this will be in a position to properly represent the club in a professional manner," ended Dave Williams.
The League’s CEO Dexter Skeene in his opening address informed the players that the seminar is the first in a number of seminars that the League is planning for the advancement of players.
He pleaded with the players present to seek to improve their skill not only on the field, but off as well.
Mr. Skeene also let them know that the League is committed to their advancement and will seek to ensure that it does its duty by continuing to assist in making programmes available to aid in making them truly professional players.
