Jehue warns young athletes about bad company
Milo West Games launch
By Mark Pouchet mark.pouchet@trinidadexpress.com
Story Created: Feb 21, 2013 at 11:07 PM ECT Carenage Boys and Girls Government and Diamond Vale Government will defend their Milo West Games titles, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain on March 5. The event was launched yesterday at Harvard Club in St James.
Carenage and Diamond Vale dominated the 25th Milo West Games, last year, sweeping the West A and West B zones, respectively.
Carenage Boys Government tallied 117 points to repeat as boys' champions, while Carenage Girls Government got 114 points to dethrone Maraval RC and regain the girls' title.
In West B, it was a sweep for Diamond Vale Government, winning both the girls' and boys' titles. For the Diamond Vale boys, it was a title defence, while the girls replaced Patna/River Estate Government as champions.
Trinidad and Tobago 400-metre hurdler Jehue Gordon, who placed sixth in the Olympic final in London last year, gave the feature address at yesterday's launch, sharing some personal anecdotes.
Gordon related how he came to understand that choosing the wrong company could lead a person down the wrong road. He recalled that early in his career as a Memphis Pioneers athlete, two friends had hot-wired one of the golf carts at their training site at the Hasely Crawford Stadium and he had gone along for the ride. The joyride turned sour when five minutes later a security guard came speeding on another golf cart to stop them.
His two friends quickly sped off on foot, and deserted Gordon, who was paralysed with fear and did not move a muscle.
Gordon said the authorities wanted to send him to YTC (Youth Training Centre), and his coach wanted to throw him out of the club for the misadventure. Eventually, Gordon said, he was given a chance and put on probation by the club.
"I learned from that day what my parents meant by 'your friends will carry yuh, but they won't bring you back'," he said, to the amusement of the children in attendance, adding that it was important to have people with similar goals around you.
Gordon also told the young children that they should not let any obstacle, like poverty or the neighbourhood they come from, determine their success in life.
Chairman of the Milo West Games, Kelvin Nancoo lauded the sponsors for their support since the inception of the Games. He also gave a brief history of the Games and the people involved. Nancoo noted that national athletes, including Michelle-Lee Ahye and Gordon, had emerged from the Milo West Games.
