The picture is of a Mango tree I pass every day on my walk to the beach. I've learned Grenadians never buy mango, it is too plentiful. They pick it fresh from the tree and never eat fruit off the ground. The best mango are hard. If they become soft, they are over-ripe.
Today, I had more phone conversations with the Donors. I'm running into a bit of a snag with the equipment because several of the uniform items are not available now. I'll try and resolve this today.
In the evening, we had Women's national team training. I've been asked by a couple of people now (coaches and some high ranking officials) if the women are ready and able to compete. I think there is a thought if they are not ready, to save the money and not send them to the OECS competition. I believe they are ready and will fare much better than last year. This is a building process and the focus must be on development. Development of the Women's program, development of systems of play, and development of athletes. I was talking with a coach watching practice last night. We were scrimmaging...the potential starters vs the second team. The starters probably have an average age of 28 and are all experienced athletes, many with nagging injuries. The second team is very young (ave age of about 17), athletic, tall, and inexperienced. To make the game fair, we gave the second team a 13-0 lead playing to 25. They took a 19-8 lead before the first team started to narrow the gap. The first team ended up winning 27-25 on a really remarkable comeback. The interesting thing though was watching the current team (first team) and the future. It made me think this is a process. The young players need role models, players to teach them work ethic and attitude, players to teach them accountability and responsibility, and they need time to develop. The older players seem a wonderful group to first of all, compete at a high level and represent Grenada well in the international competition, and second of all, to set a high standard.
And another thing I've learned, the grass isn't always greener on the other side of the mountain. I've frequently caught myself looking ahead thinking how great things are going to be, instead of appreciating what I have and enjoying the moment. Too often, we have incredible moments, and miss them because we are looking ahead for something that might not even come.
Today (friday) is a big day. We have an early morning meeting with Permanent Secretary Bruno and Press Secretary Simons to discuss the gift and formalize arrangements and the Ministry's involvement.
Respect and Love
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