Hats off to the silent partners
OUR young and, perhaps not so young, island sports stars tend not to worry about things such as how their sport finds the money to exist, let alone flourish.
OUR young and, perhaps not so young, island sports stars tend not to worry about things such as how their sport finds the money to exist, let alone flourish.
It flourishes because the local corporate world choose to see sport as a good avenue for its loose cash and, in addition, there are a group of silent partners who love their sport so much that they are happy to provide the likes of the Guernsey Sports Commission with important financial assistance.
And, more often or not, these 'anons' do not simply dig deep into their pockets just once, but time and again.
It was one such individual, who will want to remain anonymous I'm sure but let me tell you deserves a medal for what he has done for many areas of local sport, who backed an approach from myself four years ago and, through his influence and ability to foot the bill for a big lunch, pulled together the people who were instrumental in the groundwork for the commission's new high performance squad initiative.
That it has taken so long to get to the end of the runway and ready for take-off has been a little frustrating for the likes of myself who took the idea forward when Dale Garland griped that while Guernsey has brilliant sports facilities there was not the back-up and infrastructure in place to support the island's elite sports stars, particularly those with injuries.
Four years on, the commission – bless them because it really is a shot in the arm for local sport and giving us an advantage over rivals such as Jersey – is close to being in the position to answer Garland's concerns and press on with its target of making coming from Guernsey an advantage as opposed to a disadvantage which, of course, it still largely due to that expensive stretch of water.
It is a massive ask to pull off such a thing, but the commission appear to be getting there and, I hope, as they do, that its philosophy of backing the elite and giving them much of what they need to get to the top, will trickle down through the ranks and everyone will lift their game wherever they sit in the echelons of their own particular sports.
Sports science and understanding performance is key to development and, in this area, few can beat athletics and hardly a week goes by when one athlete or another is setting new records.
Louise Perrio is a prime example and this week's remarkable 9sec.
improvement on the island 3,000m record was a quite brilliant effort and reward for not only her own hard work pounding the roads, paths and synthetic track, but the science and planning behind it.
The same could be said for cycling and James McLaughlin, who also had a stunning week.
If Perrio was female 'athlete' of the week, the cyclist was the men's equivalent with his outstanding efforts in the four-stage Tour of Mallorca.
McLaughlin is giving everything he can to fulfil a sporting dream and would it not be incredible to see him in the Tour de France in a few years' time, as predicted by his coach, and another leader of local sports science, Ann Bowditch.
It will be people like Bowditch, Alan Rowe and Lee Merrien who will be the among the first Jeremy Frith, the commission's new talent performance director, will go to when seeking advice on how the new 'HPS' can work and truly make living here a plus rather than a minus.
And it is people like that illustrious trio who deserve a massive pat on the back for their expertise, although none is more deserving of a pat than those silent financial supporters of island sport who have been integral to the commission's work.
THERE must be a certain nervousness in Caesarean football circles with confirmation that the FA have backed Guernsey FC's entry onto the UK league pyramid.
They are, probably, too proud to admit it, but to my mind Guernsey football has certainly stolen a march on Jersey and one which if remains unanswered by the JFA will lead to us slowly eating away at their Muratti Vase series deficit.
While Jersey wait (for ever and a day?) and hope for an international opening to lift its senior footballers, Guernsey playing week in, week out – even if it is in fairly low-level fare as the CCL First Division for a year – can only benefit our Muratti hopes.
The team will be sharper, hardened and more slick, by virtue of playing together on a weekly basis.
Sure, the injury list will at times be a worry, but it is my fervent belief that Guernsey footballers at all levels now have the opportunity to move up a notch in terms of performance.
None of us quite knows the impact Guernsey FC will have on the island football scene, but within three years I expect the landscape of our competitive football scene will have altered considerably, for good and for better. Much better.
There will be casualties, of course.
Some traditional aspects of our 116-year-old organised game will diminish and the odd competition may fall by the wayside, but Guernsey FC can shake senior football from its slumbers, inspire dozens of emerging youngsters, while at the same time be used as an important development tool and bring crowds back to the game.
Crowds like the 1,000 or so that eased into Foote's Lane last weekend to watch Guernsey's rugby men lose their last battle of a 22-match league programme, but win the war and richly merited promotion with it.
I used the word 'eased' because Foote's Lane, with its myriad of car parks including those at the Grammar School and former St Peter Port Secondary, is so easily accessible, so comfortable, even though that Garenne Stand is invariably like a deep freeze.
Inside Track understands that next winter will see work probably go ahead to extend the Garenne Stand and house the new GRUFC headquarters and the planned new weights room.
It is all necessary work, of course, and will benefit rugby, athletics and football down the road, and it will give the followers of the oval-ball game a lift which, we must all hope, is reflected in the performances on the pitch at all levels, not just the shop window first team who will surely need to draft in some new faces, especially if the excellent Kiwis, Messrs Craine and Hayton, depart our shores this summer, as rumoured.
The rugby men must cast envious eyes across at their football counterparts when it comes to choice.
While Tony Vance can probably call upon 30-odd players who can do a decent job in the Combined Counties League, Jordan Reynolds does not have anywhere near the same fall back levels when the injuries pile up.
If Guernsey rugby is serious about staying close to Jersey – and that is one very tall order – Carl Johnson, Ady Le Page and co. have to find more bodies and talented ones to boot.
In time, and that time is probably a couple of years away, the sterling work of the Guernsey Rugby Academy and development officer Geraint Cooper may provide some of those players.
But, as we have seen with the excitingly talented Luke Jones this season, emerging young rugby players cannot possibly have the same impact as a comparatively young footballer.
It takes longer for the young rugby player to develop the required physical strength that is needed at this level, which is a big step up from academy rugby.
But youth rugby is coming on fast, despite another set of Siam losses, some of them very big. My spies in Jersey say that the advancement of the Greens' under-16 and under-18 sides has been very significant and that there is some seriously promising talent in those sides.
