By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

WITH the hosting of the 50th anniversary of the CARIFTA Games during the 50th Independence celebrations of the Bahamas, legendary Frank Rutherford and a few athletes are giving their assistance in seeking out the talent in the Family Islands and will make some recommendations on how the country can be successful at home against Jamaica.

Rutherford, the first Bahamian to win an Olympic Games track and field medal and now an assistant coach at the University of Houston, will be joined by Rolando Greene, head coach at the University of Kentucky, Norbert Elliott at Purdue University and Fritz Spence at Penn State, just to name a few, have been approached by former coach Neville Wisdom to assist in a talent search programme.

Now in Harbour Island, Eleuthera, where he’s conducted a number of basketball camps and has been able to recruit both Lashan Higgs and Winslow Barry Jr in the past, Rutherford said he’s found some raw talent in track and field that he hopes will not only be able to compete at CARIFTA, but become international stars in the future.

“We have been embarrassed and totally outclassed by the Jamaicans over the past years and we can’t allow them to come here and do the same thing to us again in our backyard,” Rutherford said. “We have countless, huge amount of athletes in these Family Islands.

“So over the next 10 years of my life, I’m going to dedicate myself to building a foundation because I’ve talked to so many of these winter home owners in Eleuthera and Harbour Island, who want proper facilities for basketball, track and field, baseball and softball that they are used to seeing in the United States.”

In forming his foundation, Rutherford said he was assured by the winter owners that they would gladly make their contributions to assist in the development of the facilities through his series of meetings with them over the past few days. He noted that they would also like to see the development of health facilities as well.

“One of the things I’m going to dedicate myself with over the next 10 years is that we have at least five to 10 track and field facilities built on these Family Islands as well as the baseball fields and basketball facilities and medical facilities where people can go and have the proper medical care on these islands.

“We have too many billionaires, persons who have the money, but want to see the facilities built on the islands. They need some leadership. So that is what I’m doing here, while I’m looking at the talent that is available on the island.”

Rutherford said he’s seen a number of athletes on Eleuthera, whom he feels can make a valuable contribution to the success of the CARIFTA team, but they just need to have their skills harnessed and given the opportunity to display their skills.

“We obviously need a national sports programme, but I’m one who is sick and tired of us just leaning on the government to do everything,” he said. “I am going along with others to try and put together a sports development and civic foundation where billionaires will donate to this fund over years to make these facilities possible.”

Rutherford is also recommending that the government seek and find the coaches who are willing to be paid to go to the Family Islands and work with the talent there.

“It’s not going to start this year, obviously. It can start next year where we can pay these coaches so that they can go to these Family Islands and work with the athletes,” he said. “We need to take this thing away from the government and have a self-sustained programme to get these athletes to the next level.”

Unlike what he’s done with football and basketball, Rutherford said it’s a lot more difficult to get the track athletes off to the United States but, through the government, they can develop a sustainable programme to get the coaches into the Family Islands to enhance the work being done there by the physical education teachers in the schools.

“We need at least 10 national track and field coaches to make this work,” Rutherford said. “We have to set them up on these islands and the communities will assist them because they want to see their athletes get to the next level in representing the country.”

“The programme can be set up similar to what coach Anthony Williams is doing in Abaco where he was able to produce Stevie Gardiner. We just need to look at more of these potential athletes that we have on the islands. They want the betterment for their kids, but we need a driving force right away.”

Before Gardiner, Rutherford said there have been a number of outstanding athletes who came from the Family Islands like Chris Brown, the late Vernetta Rolle, Sevatheda Fynes, Troy McIntosh and Carl Oliver, just to name a few.

Rutherford said it’s obvious that the Bahamas could do better in their quest to compete against Jamaica at CARIFTA, but every effort must be made to add the talent that is available in the Family Islands to those that are typically looked at in New Providence and Grand Bahama.