Thursday, December 24, 2009

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Cash still not allowed to coach in the BAISS By SHELDON LONGLEY ~ NG Sports Editor ~ slongley@nasguard.com: It's been almost eight years, and coach Greg Cash is still not allowed to coach any sport in the BAISS, despite being employed by one of the member schools - a stance which he calls a vindictive move and part of a personal agenda against him. In an article which appeared in The Nassau Guardian's Sports Section, dated Friday March 8, 2002, Cash along with team members from the Jordan Prince William Baptist High School Track & Field Team, and a few parents of student-athletes, visited The Nassau Guardian and gave interviews in which they questioned the scoring system of the Bahamas Association of Independent Secondary Schools (BAISS) Track & Field Meet. Their Jordan Prince William Falcons had just plummeted over 100 points in the standings, and they consequently expressed their displeasure with the turn of events. As a result, in letter to Cash later that year, the association advised him to apologize to the association and to the Bahamas Association of Certified Officials (BACO) in both daily newspapers. They informed him, that failure to do so, he would not be allowed to coach any sport in the BAISS. To date, Cash is still questioning what he is apologizing for. "We are living in a country where you should have freedom of expression, and as a coach, all I was doing was expressing myself," he said. "As a son of the soil, my constitution rights are being tampered with. All I did in that article was speak about how hard we had worked and about how the point system was not going in the direction as it pertains to what we had worked for. I don't see anything to warrant holding me hostage for seven years plus," he added. Cash said that it all boils down to a "personal agenda" being held against him by the Chairperson of Sports in the BAISS, St. Augustine's College (SAC) Principal Sonja Knowles, who was contacted by The Nassau Guardian yesterday but declined comment. Cash said that earlier this season he was up by SAC lending support to the Faith Temple Warriors senior boys basketball team when he encountered an unfortunate incident. He said that members of his family overheard Knowles saying: "What is Cash doing on my court. He is not supposed to be here, he is banned from my court." Cash, who is now employed at Faith Temple Academy, said that it really bothered him to know that there is still a grudge being held against him for so many years. "It hurts to know that I had this senior boys team (Warriors) from the first week of school and can't coach them in the BAISS," he said. "In the first game of the season we had a game at St. Augustine's and won the game. I was up there and stood behind the bench and it seems like that was still a problem. Ms. Knowles was the game and she happened to speak in a tone that wasn't cheerful - that she should have me thrown off her campus, but just to go to St. Augustine's and beat them on their home court was a moral victory because I don't know if the school had ever done something like that in the senior boys division. It just shows the hard work and commitment to excellence that I have with this group of boys." Cash has been employed by three member schools of the association since the 2002 BAISS Track and Field meet, but the problem of coaching in the association has followed him around at each one. He said that at one point, he pondered moving to the government school sector but truly believes that there is a greater need for his expertise in the private schools. "I really hope that this matter could be looked at and resolved in the near future cause it's painful," he said. "It's bigger than just me coaching in the BAISS and it's not doing the country any good. We talk so much about the youth going astray, and to have someone who has a track record who has never been accused of cheating or misconduct, it really makes one wonder is my position one that I could appreciate. "I try to put myself in a position to be led by God. I was out of coaching at the high school level for six years and I came back with the understanding that there was a greater need to help students in the private schools as opposed to the public schools. Technically, there are some of the better coaches in the government school system. I saw myself as one of the persons who could help the private schools sporting system be at a level where it can be respected." To say Cash is one of the more noted local coaches in the country would be an understatement. His credentials certainly speak for themselves. He is a national team coach, having traveled as an assistant coach on this year's junior national team which competed in the International Association of Athletics Federations' (IAAF) World Youth Championships in Bressanone, Italy. He also runs a local track and field club, Spirit of Excellence, and coordinates the Royal Priesthood Basketball Camp every summer. He said that he and his family have suffered "serious and unnecessary" financial burden and stress, and all he ever tried to do was to provide good and proper training for young Bahamian athletes. "I have even tried legal action but it pretty much seems to be logged in a pipe to where it isn't going anywhere because they never answered to the writ so they are pretty much in contempt. Legally, right now, everything is being bundled up in one pile," he said. "It's just not right because all I ever tried to do in this country is to seek justice. It's really hard to be the citizens who we are and get this kind of treatment. We are nurturing young people in this country and I know for a fact that a good number of young people who came through our hands are now contributing a great deal to the development of this country. "It's hard to sit back and see some of the things that are happening in our country with men who are trying to help in the well being of young men and young Bahamians," he continued. "I hesitate to draw the comparison, but hardened criminals are given a second chance and here we have an association that is basically made up of principals from church-related schools, is holding me hostage." Furthermore, Cash said that it is actually the association which is in violation of its own constitution, quoting a number of irregularities pursuant to Article VI on Discipline of the 'Bye-Laws and Guidelines for BAISS Sports'. He said that he recently had a meeting with his principal up at Faith Temple where he was told that he could attend the games but won't be able to offer any guidance to the players from the bench. "It seems like even that is a problem right now, so I just decided to gracefully bow out, but bowing out when you would have led a group of young men in a sport where the school hasn't gotten that type of recognition is difficult," he said. Cash sent out a letter last week to the BAISS in reference to his third and final request for re-instatement as a coach into the association. He remains hopeful that he will be given that opportunity to continue with his passion of coaching with the best interest of young Bahamian athletes at heart. Tuesday, December 1, 2009