Duncan IT was indeed very sad that I was unable to attend the funeral of Leighton 'Big Man' Duncan due to business commitments I had off the island.
First I would like to express my sincere condolence to his immediate family and may his soul rest in peace.
Leighton Duncan, founder of the Cavaliers Football Club, along with former national coach George Thompson were two of the most dedicated people with an undying passion for football, that I have ever met. Duncan would sleep, eat, drink and talk football for hours, without blinking an eye, so much so that most of us at Cavaliers alias "Duncan's Destroyers", would call him "LP" (long playing record on football).
His articulate and analytical skills in expressing football tactics were unprecedented. His vision for the game in Jamaica was way ahead of his time.
I would just like to quote a couple of paragraphs from a book he wrote in 1980 titled "The call of the Ball", to illustrate his deep vision for football in Jamaica.
Quote 1: We have to remind our players that they should take along to practice sessions not only the boots and gear but also a positive mind.
Quote 2: Certainly we must continue to emphasize the importance of kicking, passing, heading and other skills by way of constant practice. But we must increase by hundred fold, the training of the mind.
Quote 3: Let us bawl out our throats for better fields in Jamaica. For very few people realise the significant relationship between good fields with proper goals at both ends and our ability to score goals at the international level.
Quote 4: At the preparatory and Primary School level, competitions ought to be no more than simple basics and fun away from the glare of television cameras and over-enthusiastic parents.
Quote 5: Cannot the nation understand that it makes more sense to attend to our football priorities than merely to start a competition in the name of a particular product whether or not there is room for it in our competition calendar.
Duncan believed that professionalism in football was the only way for Jamaica to advance to world standards and that Jamaican players, given proper incentives and exposure, had the talent to be a force in world football.
Duncan "Big Man", we applaud you for the work you have done for the upliftment and empowerment of football in Jamaica.
"May you find peace with your maker."
"Respect is due to you".
Neville Oxford is a former National Player and Cavalierian.
By Neville Oxford
Contributor
