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Author Topic: Ronnie Simmons, "I was disenchanted with TT football  (Read 4081 times)

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Offline vb

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Ronnie Simmons, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« on: September 08, 2018, 10:09:10 PM »
https://vbhoolai.wixsite.com/hail-caribbeansport/ronald-simmons-football-fatima-trin

The 1981 CFL (College’s Football League) produced a handful of stars that many thought would go on to have a bright future for the rest of that decade.

In addition, to the already established Garh Pollonais, the Captain of St. Augustine SC, there were Dexter Skeene, David Nakhid and Barry Henderson (St. Mary’s College), Dexter Sandy and Lester Charles (Queen’s Royal College) and Ronald Simmons (Fatima).

Simmons captured the imagination of all who saw him; a sweeper who was strong in the air, could run from end to end, score goals and had a magnificent clearance, he was like a man amongst men. Only 17 years old, he was fast tracked on to the Senior team just a few months later.

Not surprisingly, the following year, he was Vice Captain of the National Youth Team under Pollonais and awarded a full scholarship to Howard University.

Post Howard, he won the US Cup with Club Espana and the Washington Diplomats giving  him the chance to play in the Concacaf Club Championships.

In an era of no internet, many local fans were unaware of his accomplishments and even more confused at his continuous absence from national training sessions. However, whilst locals seemed ignorant of his efforts, US coaches and fans were reveling in his ability and success.

https://vbhoolai.wixsite.com/hail-caribbeansport/ronald-simmons-football-fatima-trin
« Last Edit: September 18, 2018, 10:55:06 PM by vb »
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Offline 100% Barataria

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #1 on: September 09, 2018, 07:32:50 AM »
Good post VB, I played with his younger brother Sherron, had some good touches.  Sure there are many others who fell into this and we never got to see reach their full potential
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Offline Deeks

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #2 on: September 09, 2018, 08:21:19 AM »
Nice going vb. I am glad you were able to contact Ian. Good luck with your blog. You have my full support. God Bless!

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #3 on: September 09, 2018, 04:48:25 PM »
Excellent stuff, VB. Because it's that compelling and sure to attract readers with a memory of the 80s and those yearning for a history lesson, tighten it up with a spell check to really cap it off.

Ronnie Simmons is not someone who I thought would be disengaged from football. In his playing days I viewed him as someone who would carve a path to an active, formal life-long connection to the game. He was ALWAYS around the game and understood, both in whispers and shouts, to be an immense talent.

Again, good article. It helped fill in a few blanks. :beermug:



« Last Edit: September 09, 2018, 04:50:34 PM by asylumseeker »

Offline vb

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #4 on: September 09, 2018, 06:14:47 PM »
Excellent stuff, VB. Because it's that compelling and sure to attract readers with a memory of the 80s and those yearning for a history lesson, tighten it up with a spell check to really cap it off.

Ronnie Simmons is not someone who I thought would be disengaged from football. In his playing days I viewed him as someone who would carve a path to an active, formal life-long connection to the game. He was ALWAYS around the game and understood, both in whispers and shouts, to be an immense talent.

Again, good article. It helped fill in a few blanks. :beermug:





I really need a spell check or is it just the difference between US and British spelling? ;-)
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Offline vb

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #5 on: September 09, 2018, 06:47:48 PM »
Nice going vb. I am glad you were able to contact Ian. Good luck with your blog. You have my full support. God Bless!

Thanks Deeks.

And thank you for your input. It's stuff like that, that makes the article more worthwhile.

VB
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Offline Cocorite

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #6 on: September 09, 2018, 08:24:48 PM »
VB, I always appreciate your thoughtful input breds. I thoroughly enjoyed this piece. It broke my heart to read about his disenchantment with T&T football selectors. I didn't know about Simmons, although his name rings a bell.

Thanks for your work in getting this to us.
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Offline palos

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #7 on: September 09, 2018, 08:41:21 PM »
Thanks vb

Before Ronnie Simmons, there was Veron Skinner

Really interesting how similar they were as players and how their respective football careers turned out.

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Offline Deeks

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #8 on: September 09, 2018, 09:10:59 PM »
Yep, I saw Veron a couple of times in NY. Heard a lot about when I went back home on holiday. When I saw him he was not in his prime but still playing pretty good. There is also a dude named Nkosi Blackman in NY. He played for the youth in the youth WC that was held in TT. There was also Bertrand Neptune. HIS STORY WAS REALLY SAD.

Offline vb

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #9 on: September 09, 2018, 09:56:31 PM »
Yep, I saw Veron a couple of times in NY. Heard a lot about when I went back home on holiday. When I saw him he was not in his prime but still playing pretty good. There is also a dude named Nkosi Blackman in NY. He played for the youth in the youth WC that was held in TT. There was also Bertrand Neptune. HIS STORY WAS REALLY SAD.

Ngosi broke his leg and never seemed to hit the big time after that.

Skinner, Garnet Craig, Simmons, Skeene, Colin Rocke, Anton Corneal and Graeme Rodriguez were not treated well.

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #10 on: September 09, 2018, 09:58:27 PM »
Forgot to put up the Club Espana photo, it's there now.
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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #11 on: September 09, 2018, 10:21:51 PM »
Yep, I saw Veron a couple of times in NY. Heard a lot about when I went back home on holiday. When I saw him he was not in his prime but still playing pretty good. There is also a dude named Nkosi Blackman in NY. He played for the youth in the youth WC that was held in TT. There was also Bertrand Neptune. HIS STORY WAS REALLY SAD.
Bertha.  Big Balla.  Ask SH bout he and Peter Mitchell.  2 of his favorite footballers.
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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #12 on: September 09, 2018, 10:34:07 PM »
Yep, I saw Veron a couple of times in NY. Heard a lot about when I went back home on holiday. When I saw him he was not in his prime but still playing pretty good. There is also a dude named Nkosi Blackman in NY. He played for the youth in the youth WC that was held in TT. There was also Bertrand Neptune. HIS STORY WAS REALLY SAD.
Bertha.  Big Balla.  Ask SH bout he and Peter Mitchell.  2 of his favorite footballers.

never saw Skinner but thought he was a defender. Saw him listed as a forward. True??
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Offline Deeks

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #13 on: September 10, 2018, 05:48:31 AM »
Yep, I saw Veron a couple of times in NY. Heard a lot about when I went back home on holiday. When I saw him he was not in his prime but still playing pretty good. There is also a dude named Nkosi Blackman in NY. He played for the youth in the youth WC that was held in TT. There was also Bertrand Neptune. HIS STORY WAS REALLY SAD.
Bertha.  Big Balla.  Ask SH bout he and Peter Mitchell.  2 of his favorite footballers.

never saw Skinner but thought he was a defender. Saw him listed as a forward. True??

Veron could play both mid-field and defence. Peter was a gem. Skills for so.

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #14 on: September 10, 2018, 06:40:15 AM »
Ronnie was also a kicker for the HU Bisons American Football team in his final year.
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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #15 on: September 10, 2018, 06:45:01 AM »
Yep, I saw Veron a couple of times in NY. Heard a lot about when I went back home on holiday. When I saw him he was not in his prime but still playing pretty good. There is also a dude named Nkosi Blackman in NY. He played for the youth in the youth WC that was held in TT. There was also Bertrand Neptune. HIS STORY WAS REALLY SAD.

Ngosi broke his leg and never seemed to hit the big time after that.

Blackman currently plays in the Super League for San Fernando Giants.
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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #16 on: September 10, 2018, 07:09:40 AM »

Ronnie was the most athletic and talented T&T player I have seen.  Maybe tied with Gally. 

Offline Deeks

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #17 on: September 10, 2018, 09:29:30 AM »
I thought Nkosi got in a car accident. Veron Skinner broke his leg. I was told he was never the same when recuperated.

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #18 on: September 10, 2018, 10:20:58 AM »
I thought Nkosi got in a car accident.

Yes, he did. That was in 2002.
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Offline palos

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #19 on: September 10, 2018, 02:06:07 PM »
Star players that suffered a major injury and weren’t the same after coming back

Anthony Sherwood.  I believe he was on his way to a trial with a Queens Park Rangers when he broke his leg in a clash with a goalkeeper at the stadium playing for T&T

I was at that game.  Sherwood had skills for days.  When he came back? He was a different player.  I read somewhere where he amsaid he came back different and a better player.  A sort of “less is more” mentality.

What I will say is that prior to that injury, Sherwood was the type of balla that Trinis love.  Flashy, skillful, and spannerin men for fun.


Nkosi Blackman.  Most famous for scoring T@T’s first ever goal in a FIFA World Cuo at any age level.  After his injury, just not the same player.

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Offline Deeks

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #20 on: September 10, 2018, 03:29:15 PM »
Nkosi Blackman.  Most famous for scoring T@T’s first ever goal in a FIFA World Cuo at any age level.  After his injury, just not the same player.

Baby-Boomers/Twilighters from DC used to have a home and away match(over 35) against Ice-picks(Sammy's team) for a number of years. So one year we playing them on a field in Coney Island. They were short a man. So they called a guy called Nkosi to come on and play. I say this man eh over 35, this a yute. I keep hearing Nkosi run this way, Nkosi come back here. The yute beating the shit out of me. He tall, strong, have speed. Is only after the game when we were at the club house I started talking to him, that I realised that he was the yute who score the goal in that WC. He told me at that time he was talking to an agent to go  on a try-out in Europe. I don't know what really happened after the recuperation. But he is a next one who fell thru the crack.

There are players from TT who have recovered from serious injuries and came back to play for the national team. Two of them comes to mind. Winston"Tom" Philips. He had a horrific broken leg in an inter-col game between Tranquil-QRC on Fatima grounds. I was involved. A 50/50 thru ball. Our keeper, our stopper, myself and Tom all going for the ball. After the clash, Tom was screaming. He recovered to lead Tranquil to intercol victory over Naps at the Oval the next year. He was then selected on the PanAm games team to Mex. in 75.

The other person is Kenny Joseph. Benedicts and DF. He got a broken leg at GeoV park against Colts, I think. He recovered and played for DF and the national team. When I played against him, he was not flinching or anything like that. Is speed and high pressure from the DF front 6. He, Coops, the 2 laForests, Sacky Harewaood, Cutis Murrel. Your team would be lucky if it was not 3 down before half time. One night at PSA, they destroyed Maple. More than 10 that night.
« Last Edit: September 10, 2018, 03:30:59 PM by Deeks »

Offline asylumseeker

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #21 on: September 18, 2018, 04:19:46 PM »
Excellent stuff, VB. Because it's that compelling and sure to attract readers with a memory of the 80s and those yearning for a history lesson, tighten it up with a spell check to really cap it off.

Ronnie Simmons is not someone who I thought would be disengaged from football. In his playing days I viewed him as someone who would carve a path to an active, formal life-long connection to the game. He was ALWAYS around the game and understood, both in whispers and shouts, to be an immense talent.

Again, good article. It helped fill in a few blanks. :beermug:





I really need a spell check or is it just the difference between US and British spelling? ;-)

Well, considering that we attended an institution in common ... wha ah could tell yuh? ;D


Offline vb

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Re: Ronnie Simmos, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #22 on: September 18, 2018, 10:53:02 PM »
Excellent stuff, VB. Because it's that compelling and sure to attract readers with a memory of the 80s and those yearning for a history lesson, tighten it up with a spell check to really cap it off.

Ronnie Simmons is not someone who I thought would be disengaged from football. In his playing days I viewed him as someone who would carve a path to an active, formal life-long connection to the game. He was ALWAYS around the game and understood, both in whispers and shouts, to be an immense talent.

Again, good article. It helped fill in a few blanks. :beermug:





I really need a spell check or is it just the difference between US and British spelling? ;-)

Well, considering that we attended an institution in common ... wha ah could tell yuh? ;D



Decided to do a spell check instead of just using my eyes....Let me just say you must have gone to a good school.  ;D :beermug:
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Offline vb

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Re: Ronnie Simmons, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #23 on: October 18, 2018, 11:19:47 PM »
Express picked up the article

https://www.trinidadexpress.com/sports/local/i-was-disenchanted-with-t-t-football/article_04b54fb2-d331-11e8-bdbf-8ffc9e83672b.html

However, this is an edited version.
Deeks, sorry, had to delete yours and Bain's comments. Needed to delete 3600 words to meet their needs.

But you know where the original is.  :D
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Offline dombasil

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Re: Ronnie Simmons, "I was disenchanted with TT football
« Reply #24 on: October 19, 2018, 10:52:44 AM »
I played against Ronnie many times in Under 14, Colleges League, University and as well as when he played for Queens Park.  He was an excellent player and definitely a player of who had the quality to be a standout national team player. He was an excellent defender who had ball playing ability and a great passing range.

It was always a surprise that he was not  given a chance to be a fixture on the National team but that is a broken record by now.

 

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