Basketball team Laventille United, winner of the first Hoop of Life tournament are not resting on their laurels after beating Marabella United in the March 12 final. The players are rolling up their sleeves to get on with a community project to which half of their one million prize money, has been donated.
Describing the entire experience as one that was uplifting to the Laventille community, which is otherwise often referred to as a crime hot spot, team manager Russell Ray told the T&T Guardian the tournament has instilled pride and joy for the players who now view themselves as ambassadors of the community, with the important responsibility of being positive leaders.
Ray said since the tournament there have been ongoing meetings with the players to discuss how they intend to improve the community with the $500,000 allotted to the community project.
He said in speaking with the players, they realised the community project they want to develop will take more than $500,000 to complete, so they have gone back to the drawing board to see how best they can present their ideas and plans to the Ministry of National Security.
He added, the project must not be a “fly by night” thing, but one that will continue to give back to the community.
“It is not my doing, but if I had a say in anything, I would create a programme that would last 50 years….I would build a university in Laventille,” said Ray.
Asked how teammates have been treating with each other since the tournament, Ray said they have already reconvened practice sessions as they are gearing up for the second tournament that is due to start in October. He said the team was mostly made up of seasoned basketballers ages 16 to 30, who competed in various national championships before.
“They were all very familiar with each other and even though at times there might have been some challenges with respect to personalities, they by-passed those challenges, not to lose sight of the common goal—to win the tournament,” said Ray.
In a telephone interview with the team’s captain Kenneth Roberts, he too described the experience as elevating. He said the tournament brought a lot of people together—there were no border lines or “my turf and your turf” issues occurring.
“It was really a great opportunity, probably the most cordial we have seen in years among members in the community. Everybody just came together for one common goal—to win the tournament, so it wasn’t about self at all,” said Roberts, echoing Ray’s sentiments.
He said the players—all of whom are either self-employed or contract workers, except for the two under-21 players, were really serious about the tournament and exercised discipline throughout—reaching on time for practice sessions and present at all meetings.
“The country really got to see a different side of Laventille,” he said.
Roberts who views himself as someone who has always been concerned about the issues affecting his community, said the tournament has placed him in a position to influence others and he intends to do that positively.
Talking about how the team hopes to revamp the community, Roberts said URP and Cepep programmes cannot teach a man to fish and feed himself for life. He said the community is in need of programmes both academic and otherwise, that would spark change in the minds of people, especially the younger ones.
“They need to become self-sufficient. Too much URP and Cepep—that is just short term. What we want to give the community are gifts that would keep on giving,” said Roberts.
He added: “With the $500,000 we know what we can do to start our project, but that amount is certainly not going to be substantial for the developments we want to embark on.”
Both Ray and Roberts remained tight-lipped on information about the type of project being undertaken, saying only: “It is an educational venture that would surprise people and it would foster change in the community.
The players have already received their individual portions of the prize money according to Ray. He said the $500,000 which was divided among the 16 players and four technical staff was deposited at the Unit Trust Corporation (UTC), before it was actually distributed. UTC will also be advising the players on saving options.