RIP Mr Pantin and condolences to the Pantin family. I attended Fatima while he was principal. His son Michael was in my class and his eldest son Bernard was also at Fatima at the same time.
Mr Pantin was many things....educator, sportsman, counselor, benefactor, visionary, mentor to many, family man. In summary....he was a good man and left a lasting legacy of which he can be very proud.
When I first got to Fatima, I was excited because the school had a rep...especially in sports and I was anxious to play football and cricket to represent the school.
But the year I got to Fatima, Mr Pantin pulled the team out of the then CFL (Colleges Football League) to protest the proliferation of overaged players at other schools. He fet it was unfair and his sense of integrity made him feel he had to take some sort of tangoible action to demonstrate his feeling on the matter.
It was a heavy price to pay. But instead of Fatima wallowing in CFL limbo, no intercol and the prestige that accompanied that competition etc.....he developed the House League
The House League comprised of different "houses". I can't remember them all but there was Archbishop, Corcoran, Craigwell, Stewart are the ones I can remember. Students were assigned to a particular house on a random basis. And so we played football...everyone. It dodn't matter your talent level.
That system however, unearthed some major talent who may have otherwise been lost to the usual set of players that would usually represent the school. Players like Lester Joseph and Curtis Marcellin...who weren't necessarily known as "footballers" in school became key members of Fatima teams.
Garnet Craig wasn't discovered that way but he too played house football. After seeing Garnet in action, someone noticed a sports article that gave the scores in the Eastern Football League and a G Craig scoring a goal for Blackpool. So they inquired if that could possibly be Garnet and lo and behold, it was. A 17 year old playing among men.
That House League helped to hone the skills of players so that when Fatima decided to rejoin the CFL, and Fatima had to start in the Championship Division (not the 1st Division), we had an extremely strong team. That year, we won every game in the Championship Division, won A colts, B colts, and U 14. And I strongly believe that House League had a major role to play in that.
Once promoted to the CFL 1st division, Fatima was a force to be reckoned with for years to come....in large part as a result of that House League and the foundation it set.
So...here's to you Mr Clive Pantin. Much respect and thank you for all that you've done for us.
Oh.....and one more thing. Thank you for hiring Ms. Zakour. I believe at the time she was the first female teaching in an all male school. I look back now and don't know how she handled the raging hormones of teenage boys at the time...but DAMN! She was a looker and sexy as hell. Oh yeah...she taught French too.
Nitendo Vinces
