Basketball Fanatic, Dennis Clarke, is a ‘Special Person’

Jun 09, 2019 News, Special Person

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Pull Quote: “You can only be truly successful at the game of basketball if you fully understand and embrace the three Ds – Discipline, Dedication and Defence. These are principles that you can see work for you in just about any aspect of life, not just the game. Discipline in particular is very important, because anything you need to do, you need to be disciplined.”

By Sharmain Grainger

How can someone make a sport they’d grown to love an inseparable part of their life? Well, this becoming a reality is certainly not rocket science, given the number of people who have committed so much to their sport of choice that they live to be highly successful at it.

This is true for many sports personalities who have made it big in their respective disciplines. In fact it makes life much easier when the principles of the sport you embrace become all-encompassing. At least this is according to a local sport personality, Dennis Clarke, who embraced basketball some 40 years ago and still remains committed to its evolution here in Guyana.
Although his love for the sport might have always been there, learning to better his game was an achievement that was years in the making.
But according to Clarke, who currently serves as a basketball official and has been imparting his vast knowledge to many within the fraternity, it was all worth the while, since learning the game helped him to transcend its principles to his very existence – even off the court.
According to Clarke, “You can only be truly successful at the game of basketball if you fully understand and embrace the three Ds – Discipline, Dedication and Defence. These are principles that you can see work for you in just about any aspect of life, not just the game. Discipline in particular is very important, because anything you need to do, you need to be disciplined.”

Although he may seem consumed by the game, Clarke also made it pellucid that education is and will always remain the key to ultimate success. This is in light of his understanding that if due to an injury or some other life circumstance, “you must have something to fall back on. Regardless of what type of sport you want to play, education is a must”.
Currently, Clarke functions as a referee in the game of basketball, but long before reaching this stage, he was an outstanding player with enviable tactics that were instrumental in realizing many coveted wins. His involvement has taken him across the country and even abroad and, at all times, Clarke brought his A-game to the court. He is also skilled in other aspects of basketball and has served as an assistant coach, referee, statistician, scorer and time-keeper too, at many games.
FORMATIVE YEARS
But just how did Clarke become such an indomitable figure in the game of basketball. Like most successful people, his wasn’t an overnight achievement, but rather, it all started way back in the day, when Clarke was just a boy.

Born on August 9, 1949 to parents Eugenie and Patrick Clarke, Dennis was the younger of two children. His sister Eula was the elder child.
He remembers living in the multi-ethnic environment of Saffon Street, Charlestown, and has fond memories of a modest but comfortable existence. However, things would drastically turn around for the family when communities were built in the city, and his family literally got a chance to move on up to the east side.
According to Clarke, his family was able to relocate to East Ruimveldt at a time when a number of schemes were being constructed in Georgetown.
“This was a good change; it was like moving into Bel Air, with so much play space, and moving away from a yard with a lot of people and no play space.” Having ample space to play was always important to Clarke as he had an ingrained passion for anything sports.
During a recent interview, he recalled attending St. Stephens Primary School before his parents decided he would better learn through Ms. Boxhill’s private tutelage. His private teacher eventually recommended that he attend Tutorial Secondary School.
Although his mother was at one point employed, Clarke remembers her as a housewife and his father being a Foreman at a Sugar Terminal. He remembers well, too, that his father always preached the importance of education. “My father wanted me to take in my education, because he never wanted me to have a job like his… he did a lot of work as a stevedore and he didn’t want that for me,” Clarke recounted.

Clarke remembers getting into many fights during his schooling days but insists that there was at least one occasion when he was able to take down a school bully and was well supported by his school-mates. It might have been their collective support for what they considered a noble act that helped to ensure that he received no punishment on that occasion.
This certainly wasn’t the high point of his boyish days, as he was well known for his outstanding athletic abilities and his love for other sports including cricket, football and of course, basketball.
In fact, he recalled that after moving to East Ruimveldt at the age of 12, he developed an immense passion for basketball. This of course saw him saving to buy a basketball, which he was eventually able to do with the support of his father (now deceased). Clarke remembers vividly encouraging his friends to play ball with him at Parade Ground [Burnham Court], which to this day hosts many a game.
It was while dabbling unsupervised in a game one day, Clarke recalled he and his friends being approached by a very tall Caucasian man who seem keen on helping them to better understand the game. Clarke was opened to learning and took in everything he was taught which helped to improve his gaming tactics. He was eventually able to become a part of a basketball team called the Ravens.
ANOTHER LEVEL
But life wasn’t only about the game for Clarke as he also enjoyed reading a great deal. It was just this he was engaged in when he came across an article in a magazine which enlightened him of the process of acquiring a student visa to study in the United States.

The young Clarke had just finished O’ Levels and was indeed intrigued. Fearing that his parents would not give consent to such an undertaking, Clarke decided that he would apply for one unbeknownst to them, since their approval was not a requirement.
“I tricked my father into getting my passport…I told him the school needed to see the passport because I knew if I had told him I was going for a visa he probably wouldn’t have given it to me,” Clarke shared amidst a chuckle. He was successful in getting the visa and belatedly informed his mother [who he remembers as very loving], who then told his father. Although his action, in this regard, did not go down well with his father, the young Clarke convinced both his parents that this was his way of ensuring that he could further his education, which could position him for a better future.
His parents were certainly accepting of his explanation and before long; they were making preparations for him to attend the Berk Trade and Business School in New York. He left for the United States back in 1968. Adjusting to the American way of life was very tough for the young Clarke, although he was being accommodated by relatives who had migrated there years earlier. He was forced to seek employment to help sustain himself. “I found out that America is a place you don’t live for free, even if it is at your family. It was really tough for me to work and go to school,” he recounted. He eventually sought to register in the US Army and might have been drafted in 1969; then had a medical conducted on him, which revealed evidence of a high blood sugar level.

However, Clarke would eventually find his true calling when he got a part-time job as a custodian at a school where he was able to resurrect his love for basketball. You see, at the time the school was offering courses for officials of basketball including time-keepers, scorers and statisticians. “I fell right into that and after doing all of these courses, I really got to know basketball even better,” Clarke shared.
But as fate would have it, Clarke would be forced to return home by 1978 due to the death of his mother. Still passionate about the game, Clarke decided to grace a few games with his attendance and recognised that there was a need for him to impart his vast knowledge to the local basketball fraternity. His decision to do this was well received which saw him planning workshops first in Georgetown, then Linden and Berbice too, where he was able to share all that he had learnt about basketball while abroad.
“They never used to even do stats and I brought them up to date with that, and also helped them to sharpen their scoring and time-keeping techniques. In basketball, these are very important, especially the stats,” said Clarke, who currently has the status of being Guyana’s Chief Basketball Statistician.
Upon his return too, the 6’ 3” tall Clarke had indulged in a bit of play, first with the Ravens (which he was a part of before migrating), then the Malta, Courts and Trinity Pacesetters Clubs, where he was able to excel. He was even elevated to the status of captain for the first and second division teams, and was a very crucial player who helped to outwit many teams to outstanding victories.
All this he did, before opting to retire as a player 35 years after his return, in order to become a full-fledged official of the game, which he has been doing with distinction over the years. He would eventually become chairman of the Pacesetters Club too.
He recalled being an official [time-keeper/scorer] back in 1981 when Guyana hosted the inaugural CARICOM basketball championships, which were also held here in 1988 and 1994, during which he served in similar capacities. “I decided to retire as a player because there was a shortage of officials like referees and once you were part of a Club, you couldn’t be an official, and I really wanted to be an official,” Clarke reflected.
Even as he gains recognition for his dedication to basketball both nationally and further afield, Clarke continues to learn as much as he can, so that he can help to ensure that basketball in Guyana remains on par with what obtains in the rest of the world. According to this official, who has fathered six children, “basketball in Guyana has reached a very high pitch, because many people in the sport have been eager to work to help develop it.”
For remaining committed to excellent basketball for 40 years and counting, today we at Kaieteur News commend the efforts of Dennis Clarke, by offering him the title of our ‘Special Person’ of the week.

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