Published: 27 April 2007
Tim's 6th - 13th April 2007 Visit Report
This was the first trip on my own since August 2005. Nervous about being on my own, it started badly with the sad news of the death of Leo's Grandmother, making me wish I was somewhere else.
This played with my mind whilst at the airport and during the flight. Arrival was prompt and hot with Omar Jallow, Omar Jadama, Jerreh and Abu meeting me at the airport. Our green bus was my first sighting, the logo standing out nice in white with the green back-ground. Not quite as we had requested, however, but looked good. This is another hurdle jumped in our efforts to make Badminton a recognised sport in The Gambia.
Evening meal at The Paradiso (the best Lasagne in the world!) followed by my return to the hotel where to my delight sat Ams, Samba and Moms. They had been trying to track me down all day, missing me at the airport! A hug and a tear followed then we chatted for an hour before I gave them their fare to allow them to take transport to their brother in Serrekunda to sleep on his floor for the night before returning to the hotel after eight the following morning.
Training started on the first Saturday on a four rota basis. It was centred on abilities to play shots under pressure over a two minute period where players had to return the shuttle accurately to my feet. Worked all the players very hard, some collapsed in a heap on the floor afterwards (boy ES). I covered attack clears and explained their purpose in both singles and doubles play. Played doubles with each of the four selected players each day working on positional play and tactics. This worked well in a small arena with four players as they had time to understand and ask questions.
Training lasted three hours each day. I was impressed with Jerreh's management of the training, he also worked our players very hard on the warm up skills. I sensed an atmosphere of not just enjoyment but a determination to succeed against the British Team coming out in August.
The hall was cleaned daily using our new cleaning brushes as the sand within an hour gets everywhere. We re-laid the floor markings with tape donated by William Farr School. Jerreh also ensured our players wore their kits each day. On the final Thursday Jerreh ran a Doubles Tournament with Yorro Camera and Samba Bah winning the final. Jerreh then made a sterling speech about the future and awarded three prizes donated by Tracey Hallam to his players who had achieved the most over the last three months of training. Our congratulations go to Tall Amadou, Saul Silva and Saul Bojang. He also appointed two Team Captains for the forthcoming match against the UK. Omar Jadama and Saul Silva received this honour.
We have decided to re-paint the hall a cream colour and this will cost approx. £300 with funds being released for this work. We will also be adding glass to the eight windows we have inside the Hall. More funds have also been supplied to provide training costs for seven sessions leading up to our visit in late July.
My evenings on this trip were spent either at Youna with the families of our players or at my favourite restaurant near the hotel with some of our players who enjoy the English dish of Chicken and Chips with a fizzy drink or two! During the evening visits to Youna, I had to take a blanket as the evenings were very cool. This being my 12th visit was the first time I had to do that.
Overall, the most noticeable difference on this trip was the way the team performed on court and the management of that. Great to see Jerreh and Abu combining to improve and encourage the team, great to see their enthusiasm, great to see and feel their excitement regarding the summer.
Sad to leave... so many came to the airport with me to see me off. That boy Amadou Bah, it's so difficult to walk away from him, his letter (below) says it all and is a constant reminder to me why I started this with Les and why I now must deliver on our promises.
But I need, and will always need, your help to do this.
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