By Donald Duff
Former national cyclist Victor Rutherford is calling for the appointment of a national cycling coach attached to the Department of Sport following the retirement of veteran coach Hassan Mohammed.
In an exclusive interview with Stabroek Sport, Rutherford spoke of the concerns within the cycling community due to the retirement of Mohammed and the perceived lack of support and development for cyclists, especially young ones. Cycling enthusiast Lloyd Conway, spoke of the need to re-establish nursery programmes aimed at nurturing and developing young cyclists.
Veteran NSC coach Hassan Mohammed, who was highly regarded in the cycling community, retired recently and the Ministry of Sport has not yet replaced him.
Mohammed, who in 1990 received the Medal of Service for his contribution to cycling from the late president Hugh Desmond Hoyte, is credited with almost singlehandedly promoting the development of the sport and keeping it alive though his various programmes.
“Well, that is one of my disappointments that I cannot understand Hassan is gone and up to now the Ministry of Sport has not replaced Hassan. I can’t understand it,” said Rutherford, who years ago was also a coach attached to the NSC then known as the National Sports Development Council (NSDC).
Rutherford recalls that the late Shirley Field-Ridley, who was responsible for sports development, had initiated a programme to have coaches in various sports disciplines, including cycling, work in schools.
“This is how it happened, Shirley Field-Ridley in her wisdom decided that she will get the sports development council and in doing that, she said that she’s looking after the schools. So then she got coaches to coach in the schools in all disciplines cricket, football, boxing, tennis, cycling and track and field and that’s how Hassan got into coaching and I know because we were part of that,” said Rutherford.
Asked if there were any persons around who can fit the bill and replace Mohammed, Rutherford suggested Dwayne Gibbs.
To the suggestion that a coach with modern methods might be more productive Rutherford said…”You can’t bring a top coach from anywhere. To coach who?”
Conway, emphasized the need for a nursery programme like Mohammed’s `Teach Them Young and Schoolboys and Novices programmes, which existed years ago to be reintroduced.
“We don’t have a nursery now. I remember when upright cyclists used to be recognized and then they graduated to racing bikes, bit-by-bit. Right now, there’s no recognition, no programme and no races for upright cyclists, said Conway, whose son Mark, now a prominent lawyer, was once one of the country’s top cyclists.
Former Olympian Neville Hunte in agreeing with Conway on the issue of upright cyclists, recalls that his entry into cycling was via upright cycling.
“I started upright cycling. I looked at the little kids riding bicycles and felt that I could beat them but they put a licking on me,” he recalls.
Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle, when contacted for a comment said that the department was looking to fill vacancies that existed not only for a cycling coach but other disciplines as well. He pointed out that just recently the department filled the vacancy that existed for a basketball coach.
