The Nassau Guardian interviewed some of the young track and field athletes yesterday for our television news broadcast who were successful at the recent World Youth Championships in Lille, France.
It was a pleasure to see the young people talk about their experiences and successes at the event.  We won three gold medals and one bronze medal.  Twin brothers Latario and Lathone Collie-Minnis won gold and bronze in the triple jump, respectively; Stephen Newbold won a gold medal in the 200 meters and Shaunae Miller won gold in the 400 meters.
These are troubling times in The Bahamas. By the end of this year, in all likelihood, there will be a fourth murder record in five years.  Many of those killings were committed by young people - young men in particular.  If one spent a day standing at the court complex at Bank Lane, hundreds of young men in handcuffs, chains and sometimes shackles accused with vile crimes would be observed.
These young athletes have chosen a different path guided by family and guardians.  Success in athletics requires discipline and dedication.  Being born with talent alone will not lead to global sporting success.
If more of our young people would embrace hard work and dedication to noble goals much of the dysfunction and crime in our country would not exist.
It must be remembered, though, that these children did not become successes alone.  The parents and guardians we mentioned are key components in that success.
Parents and guardians can inspire.  They also have the role of maintaining discipline and guiding ambitions.  It is not good enough simply to buy your children all the materialistic nonsense they crave and assume you have been a good parent.
Good leaders in the household notice those things their children are good at and they steer them towards those things, noting that sacrifice and struggle are required for achievement. Those good household leaders also put down rules in order to ensure that those children put in the required work to be successful, ensuring that the lives of those children are not derailed due to pursuit of foolishness.
At times, all of us can become a little dismayed due to the under-performance of many of our young people. The public school average for the Bahamas General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE) exams is near an F. The boys in the public school system especially are not doing well.
In the context of these conditions, these young athletes demonstrate that our situation is not hopeless.  We have young people in our jurisdiction raised by Bahamian parents in Bahamian schools who can be the best at something in the world among their peers.
Hopefully, the success of these children, who look like us and speak like us, will inspire some of the other children who are not doing as well.  What must be understood, though, is these young people who are being honored and interviewed were not lucky. They worked hard and sacrificed for their success. Those who do the same can too be good at the course they pursue.
 

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