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Senegal drubs The Bahamas

Senegal drubs The Bahamas

Sun, Apr 30th 2017, 11:30 PM

Team Bahamas fell down four goals to none in the first five minutes in Saturday night's encounter against Senegal, and it was all downhill from there as they dropped their second straight game to start the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 at The Bahamas' National Beach Soccer Arena at Malcolm Park.
The Bahamas lost 10-1, their only goal coming on a penalty shot by Team Captain Gavin Christie at the 4:44 mark of the second stanza. Senegal got that goal right back four minutes later, and then completed the scoring with four goals in the third and final period.
As a result of the loss, coupled with Switzerland's 9-5 win over Ecuador earlier in the day, The Bahamas fell out of contention for a quarter-final spot. The Bahamas will play its final game of the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup Bahamas 2017 against Ecuador at 8 p.m. tonight, and the quarter-finals will get underway on Thursday.
"That was just really a bad performance for us -- no focus and no fight," said Team Bahamas Head Coach Alexandre Soares. "We didn't play any defense, and we didn't use our intelligence. In the first four minutes, we were down 4-0. You can't win a match like that. We have to find a way to get motivated and try to win at least one game in the world cup."
In the first minute of the game, Senegalese defender Mamadou Sylla sidestepped Bahamian defender Nesley Jean and pushed one past goalie Julio Jemison to give Senegal a 1-0 lead. About a minute later, a wide open Ibrahima Balde, of Senegal, scored his first of three goals in the match. He took a well placed pass from Babacar Fall and again diverted a shot past Jemison. Less than a minute later, Balde struck again. This time, he found a small opening and bounced one over the head of Bahamian goalie Jemison. Mamour Diagne scored Senegal's fourth goal at the 4:39 mark of the opening stanza. He got the assist from Hamidou Barry and pushed a shot into the top right portion of the goal past Jemison. Lansana Diassy gave Senegal a 5-0 lead as he scored at the 7:59 mark of the first period.
"We came out tonight and allowed Senegal to play their game. There wasn't any ball pressure at all," said Bahamian goalie Jemison who surrendered all 10 goals. "Against Switzerland, we took away their game and let them play to our pace. We didn't do that tonight (Saturday). We gave Senegal too much freedom, and they took advantage of it.
"Defending them was a bit of a struggle because their playing style is a bit unique. They're big and fast, and they move well on the sand. They're one of the few teams that play like that. Their players are world-class, so it was a bit of a struggle for us. We're going to take this game, learn from it, and come back on Monday and play hard. We just have to keep working hard, and we'll get there."
The Bahamas finally got on the scoreboard five minutes into the second stanza on a penalty shot from Christie. Balde got his hat trick, and fourth goal of the tournament, four minutes later, and then two goals each from Papa Ndoye and Hamad Diouf in the third stanza completed the scoring.
"We had a game plan and we didn't execute it. Some silly goals happened out there," said Lesley St. Fleur, The Bahamas' top international goal scorer. "They scored four goals in four minutes. We tried, but they just were on another level. We need to fight more. We lost focus. I tried to lift the team up, but it wasn't happening for us tonight. You have to believe, and we didn't go out there and believe tonight. We have to go out there on Monday and play with pride."
Both The Bahamas and Ecuador come into tonight's match-up winless. Ecuador is ranked at number 21 in the world, and The Bahamas is at number 48.
"We have to go back to the drawing board and start over," said St. Fleur. "I just want to thank the fans for coming out and supporting us. They have been here for us from day one -- they never gave up on us, and we appreciate that."
It was a complete domination by Senegal on Saturday night. They out-shot The Bahamas, 53-43, and controlled the ball 54 percent of the time. They will play Switzerland today for the top spot in Group A, and both teams will advance to the quarter-finals on Thursday. Meanwhile, The Bahamas and Ecuador will play their final match of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) tournament tonight.

RBC executives empower young leaders

RBC executives empower young leaders

Sun, Apr 30th 2017, 11:12 PM

The possibilities open to people willing to commit time and effort to their careers are practically limitless, Nathaniel Beneby, RBC Northern Caribbean managing director, told students in the Bahamas Youth Leadership Development Program.
"You never know when the door to growth and development will open. Take advantage of the possibilities, and you will have greater career success," said Beneby, a 43-year banking industry veteran.
Beneby told 47 young leaders from the Bahamas Youth Leadership Development Program (BYLD), who came to New Providence from Grand Bahama to visit Royal Bank House, to use him as an example.
"I'm a local boy, and if I can do it, so can you," he said.
The visit gave students the chance to explore the history of financial services and potential careers related to it.
Renee Moore, senior manager of foreign exchange, trading and treasury, told students that financial services is an industry with many diverse opportunities.
Speaking to her specialized role in market trading, Moore said her strategy for building a successful career was to find something she loved and become an expert at it.
Kirkwood Pinder, RBC head of service delivery, who recently transitioned from managing branches to his current leadership role, emphasized his love for developing people. He told the students that it is vital for leaders to listen more than they speak.
"Listen to what folks are saying to you. Do not prepare your answer while they are talking -- really listen."
BYLD was established in Grand Bahama and provides leadership training for high school seniors in the community.

Economic boost projected from Spartan Race in November

Economic boost projected from Spartan Race in November

Sun, Apr 30th 2017, 11:03 PM

One of the most popular obstacle course running brands in the world is coming to New Providence in November, according to the owner of RETRO Management (Rhondi's Entertainment Training and Recruitment Organization), Rhondi Treco.
Spartan Race posted an image on its Instagram account late Friday evening alluding to a Spartan Race happening in The Bahamas, saying: "Who wants to conquer a Spartan Race in the Caribbean?"
The image caption carried the hashtag "Spartan Race Bahamas".
Spartan put on its popular obstacle course run in Miami Saturday and Sunday, attracting thousands of runners from all over the world. Several runners from The Bahamas ran the obstacle course Saturday, and the Ministry of Tourism had a booth at the event for the first time.
Treco said the Spartan Race is sure to have an impact on the lives of Bahamians in terms of their lifestyle, health, recreation options, camaraderie and togetherness, adding obstacle racing is a rather new sport to The Bahamas.
"Because it's a new sport it allows me to develop somebody basically from scratch," she said.
"We have the ability to implement a new sport in the country and create more opportunities for athletes in a sport that's gong to eventually be an Olympic sport.
"When it becomes an Olympic sport, I want The Bahamas to have a team that's already ready."
Treco said The Bahamas is set to be a hub for a plethora of different obstacle course racing opportunities.
She said this November The Bahamas should see a large number of international athletes coming to participate, meaning a potential economic boost at the end of the year.
Obstacle course racing began in earnest three years ago with the implementation of the Chickcharney Challenge, after which spun off two other obstacle running events.
This past weekend's Spartan Race was a four-mile course with close to 20 obstacles.

Two men in hospital after separate shootings

Two men in hospital after separate shootings

Sun, Apr 30th 2017, 06:10 PM

Two men are in hospital after two separate shooting incidents on Saturday night.