Hours after being named head coach of the Barbados team for the 2011 CARIFTA Games which will be held from April 23 to 25 in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Alwyn Babb has withdrawn his services.
This means that none of the top two officials from last year’s team to the Cayman Islands will be with the 41-strong side as manager David Leslie didn’t apply for that position.
When contacted Babb told NATIONSPORT “personal reasons” prevented him from fulfilling the appointment.
When pressed, he said: “There are personal commitments that require me to be in Barbados at Easter. It is not only for CARIFTA, but I don’t want to be considered for any national duty or the rest of the year.”
Leslie and Babb were manager and head coach, respectively, from 2006 to 2010. During that time, the Barbados team had returns of 19, 21, 26, 21 and 18 medals; but last year, there was an outcry that other coaches weren’t being given the opportunity to travel.
At the end of the 2010 CARIFTA Games both had indicated it would be their last trip.
Leslie said then: “I hope that I have made a difference in terms of the structure and the administration of the team. It has been an honour to lead such wonderful children. I have found some wonderful kids to love. It has been a wonderful experience for me sharing their success.”
Babb also stepped aside then, although he did indicate an interest when contacted this year.
“I want to give the other coaches and those people who are calling for changes the opportunity for change. I believe that I am going to sit out for at least two or three years. I am going to assist with the preparation of those under my charge to ensure that the medal hopefuls and the prospects are even greater than when I was a coach,” Babb said at that time.
Eight athletes from the his club, Rising Stars, are on the team.
Dale Moore, public relations officer of the Amateur Athletic Association, said the council would meet and appoint a new head coach, and president Esther Maynard said it would be treated as a matter of urgency.
The team is scheduled to depart on April 21 and the programme got underway yesterday at the Barbados Olympic Centre, Wildey.
Babb will be in Jamaica just before the games. He has been invited by the World Intellectual Property Office and the Jamaica Intellectual Property Office for their Intellectual Property and Sport seminar on April 19 and 20 in Kingston.
“They contacted me and invited me to participate in the programme and make a presentation on the importance of mentorship for athletes. I was very surprised,” he said.
His paper, which is already written, will focus on what mentorship means to the athlete; how it will assist in their personal struggles; handling athletes issues pertaining to parents, education and interpersonal relationships; financial issues and shaping the person’s life on a day-to-day basis.
It will draw from his personal experiences as a coach.
