THE STRONGEST TUG on the heartstring usually comes from the ones we love. And the tug magnifies when it is family.
Sitting in the lounge last week at the Radisson Aquatica hotel, Kieron Pollard has at his side wife Jenna and their two children, Kaiden and Janiya.
Kieron is dad to his two children and husband and best friend to Jenna, a responsibility he doesn’t take lightly.
Two other responsibilities also weigh heavily on him – teammate and captain.
Kieron is part of the West Indies cricket team and is the captain of the Tridents Pride of Barbados in the Hero Caribbean Premier League.
That means a lot of travelling. And he told EASY magazine that being away from his family to carry out his cricket duties is the hardest task he has ever had to undertake.
“It’s a bit difficult sometimes, most times, but now that the kids are actually getting bigger they are getting to understand what daddy really does,” said Kieron, as his facial expressions reveal how distressing it was at times being absent from their lives.
In 2015 there was a period he was at home for about three months, which was the longest he had been in about five or six years.
But that was soon to be disrupted and what appeared to be the new norm resumed its regular course.
“They [children] usually ask how long I am going to be. My son is counting, he knows the months of the year, the days of the week, so it’s always ‘when are you coming back’ and ‘how many days’ . . . . It’s difficult,” Kieron said.
With the technology of Skype and Facetime, family time has got a tad bit easier for him to catch up.
The all-rounder gushed about how great Jenna is, as while it is hard when they are apart, it is hardest on her since she has to take up the role of both mother and father.
“She has been great in that aspect in terms of doing everything for them and making sure the household still runs well.We have a couple of businesses as well so she has to take up that mantle when I’m not there,” he said.
As he glances over at six-year-old Kaiden drinking his virgin pina colada and his two-year-old daughter Janiya playing a game on his IPhone while Jenna makes herself comfortable while leaning against his side, Kieron said being a father is an amazing experience.
“Just watching two human beings grow up, I think that’s the most enjoyable part. To see them grow from babies into toddlers then into young kids . . . . Seeing how they progress and learn, that’s amazing. They are free and they just do whatever comes to their mind and just enjoy themselves,” said Kieron with a smile.
For the Pollard family, fun is summed up as together time.
“For me life is about fun and we have a lot of fun. We have that opportunity because we are financially secure. We don’t have to think about working a rigid eight to four, so on these trips we don’t have anything to take on,” he said.
Kieron revealed that he and Jenna try to encourage brotherly and sisterly love. Both children enjoy one each other’s company and are inseparable.
There seems to be another cricketer in the family as Kaiden is following in his father’s footsteps, as he goes to the Queens Park coaching clinic in Port of Spain on Sunday mornings.
“He plays cricket in whites but I don’t see him playing a lot of white clothes cricket because the way he bats I guess he watches his daddy bat and is just looking to hit everything for six when he’s batting.”
He said his son also asked a variety of questions about cricket.
At this tender age Kaiden is even into being a DJ and his exploits can be seen on YouTube.
Kieron is quite satisfied with the “unfolding” of his life and he often has to “pinch” himself because based on where they came from as a family he never expected them to be in such a fortunate position.
“These things have come pretty fast but you know it’s enjoyable at the same time. I just can’t stop thanking God for that opportunity to play cricket and then having a family as I do, the way we operate I’ts unbelievable at times but we continue to thank God for that,” said Kieron.
The slow medium pace bowler is aware that a career as a cricketer lasts for a short time and he has already started to put things in place.
Revealing that he always aspired to be a businessman he said he was into real estate, he had a cricket store and was also into the liquor business.
Pollard said not being able to afford quality equipment growing up was the driving force behind him opening the cricket store.
“I try to source the best and bring it to Trinidad at an affordable cost for the people who can’t afford it, so we have different ranges and my main thing is about quality. I believe when you are doing something you do it properly. I’m not going to bring a lower quality and sell it for a high price,” he said.
Being someone who loves socialising he admits that some form of drinking comes into play.
“When you look at it, sports people aren’t to drink but we do it anyway. You drink when you’re happy, you drink when you’re sad, you drink when you’re socialising . . . . That was just the theme behind it,” he said, while at the same time advocating being responsible when drinking.
Kieron acknowledges that at 29 years old, dreams he had to play Test cricket are dwindling, but all is not lost.
Drawing his family closer to him in an embrace he said, “You might never achieve all that you set out to achieve but all is not lost. You take it as it comes and you make decisions based on what’s in front of you.
“I am happy,” said Pollard with a satisfied smile. “As long as I am on that cricket field I will continue to produce in whatever aspect.”