Dedicated Athletics Coach, Leslie Black A.A., is a Special Person’

Jul 14, 2019 News, Special Person

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“In order to be a good coach you first have to have self-discipline…you have to be a father to your athletes. I think I was able to get success out of my athletes mainly because I could’ve afforded to ensure that they eat properly and take care of themselves and have the right gears.”

By Sharmain Grainger

What do you call a man who plays his role to the fullest and then some? His name is Leslie Black or simply ‘Blacks’ to those who know him well. Some already know this of him but for those who don’t, let me briefly enlighten you, for these pages are quite insufficient to detail the extent of his exploits as a committed husband, father, brother, friend and outstanding athletics coach so far, too many to mention.
He could’ve settled for being just an average man or even below average, after all he could’ve used the excuse that his father was nowhere around his upbringing. But Black from a very young age was driven to be the best possible man he could be. This, moreover, saw him desperately striving to be outstanding not only at sports, but more so in the game of life. The outcome was him becoming an individual who not only ensured that his own children have an especially comfortable upbringing, but quite a few he adopted along the way have also benefited.
He is a man of unprecedented strength having suffered through the death of two of his eldest children in the most heart-rending of ways. The father of six lost his first born, Seon, back in 1990. At the time the young man was a promising athlete and was very close to his father’s heart. “I could’ve seen him bringing home some gold medals for Guyana,” said Black, of his son, during an interview, as he remembered losing his son in a road accident.
He was able to press on even in the face of this enormous heartbreak. But by 2008 he was battling with another dilemma – his second child, Melissa, was diagnosed with stage four cancer. He waged war like any good father would, but eventually had to surrender to his daughter’s fatal fate in 2012.

But he had to remain a tower of strength to Avril, now his wife of 41 years, four younger children – Jason, Leslyn, Mickey and Afeha – and the many others who were looking to him for solace.
It can be easily deduced that the circumstances that Black has endured over the years, have served to solidify the notion that he is a man of unprecedented substance who is especially deserving of being named a ’Special Person’ all year long.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS
But from whence did this outstanding human being originate? Born Leslie Thomas Black on October 21, 1958, at the Suddie Hospital on the Essequibo Coast, he was the sixth of eight children his mother, Dorothy Black, birthed. His now 91-year-old mother had a tough time caring for her children, Black recalled. He revealed too that while he never had a close relationship with his father, William Alleyne, it was his paternal grandmother who gave his mother a helping hand to raise him.

He remembers living within his grandmother, Druscilla Peters, at Good Hope, also in Essequibo. He attended the Good Hope Primary School. He has fond memories of his grandmother, who, he recalled, gave him his first introduction to the capital city when she moved to West Ruimveldt.
“She brought me to Georgetown to live with her,” reminisced a smiling Black, as he recalled that as a nine-year-old boy, “coming to Georgetown at that time was like coming to America and seeing all the lights at the Stabroek Market square and so on…I was anxious.”
In fact, Black jokingly recalled that threats from his grandmother to send him back to Suddie, when he misbehaved, were akin to severe punishment, as it would cause him to cry bitterly. “I never wanted to go back to Suddie.”
But what he didn’t give up even after leaving Suddie was his passion for things sports. From a young age he remembered especially having an affinity for athletics. “I loved athletics and I played a bit of football and other sports too. I was always active in some sports since I was a boy,” Black recounted.
When he came to Georgetown, he continued his schooling at the East La Penitence Government School.
NATIONAL SERVICE
But life became tough for the young Black when his grandmother passed away. He was just about 16 years old at the time. He eventually found the Guyana National Service [GNS] as a way out of his dilemma, an experience he recalled

embracing right alongside, Avril, who he had already chosen to be his life partner.
“National Service was a good experience…you could’ve gotten something to eat, a place to stay, and learn something too,” said Black, as he remembered being one of its lead boxers.
Before deciding to join the GNS he was a very experienced boxer and a very proficient athlete too. While athletics was always a part of him, he learnt a great deal of boxing tactics when he moved to Georgetown, through the Brotherhood Boxing Gym, which was located at the East La Penitence School.
“When school over I used to get a chance to learn to box and this started since I was around 12 years old,” Black recalled. “I was the fittest boxer when I joined the National Service Pioneer programme,” Black shared, as he recalled boxing his way to many victories. It was also a memorable moment for him when he got an experience to spar with the late, great Muhammed Ali, when he visited Guyana back in the day.
After completing GNS, Black’s boxing and athletics capabilities saw him being able to easily transition to the Guyana Defence Force [GDF] where he successfully underwent a Physical, Technical and Instruction course. But Black didn’t really see himself as a military man and after four years of giving his best to the

military, he opted to sever ties.
BECOMING A COACH
By this time, he and Avril had a family of their own, and he needed to find ways to ensure that they were well supported. This saw Black deciding to venture into gold mining, a near-decade-long profession which even saw him suffering debilitating illnesses such as typhoid and malaria. However, it was after recovering from malaria that he decided to become a coach to his, now dead son, who he realized had a passion for athletics.
“The day he died, he was participating in a GTU/CUT long distance race, and he was the first student to complete the race…he was just 12-plus at the time. His aunt was taking him out for an ice cream treat and they and two others were walking down the road when a car hit them down and just the two of them died…the others escaped,” Black shared.
But even after the death of his son, Black was not prepared to give up on coaching. In fact it might have been in memory of his son that he continued to coach a number of youths, many of whom he and his wife willingly parented too. Among those he has given priceless support to, over the years, are a number of outstanding athletes the likes of Reonna Cornette, Cleveland Forde, Alika Morgan and Kelvin Johnson.
Being a coach is not a simple task, Black explained. In fact, he made it pellucid that “In order to be a good coach you first have to have self-discipline…you have to be a father to your athletes. I think I was able to get success out of my athletes mainly because I could’ve afforded to ensure that they eat properly and take care of themselves and have the right gears.”

Black disclosed that he was able to accomplish this with support from many business persons who had an appreciation for the kind of laudable work he was doing with the youths.
“I never had a problem soliciting support from corporate Guyana…I have gotten support to travel all over the world with my athletes as far as Indonesia, London, Canada, United States of America, almost all over the Caribbean, I even passed through Dubai; I did a lot of travelling,” said a smiling Black, as he spoke of the satisfaction he feels from helping his athletes become true success stories.
“A day doesn’t pass without me wanting to do something for somebody,” Black reflected, even as he remembered his grandmother who raised him to be the man he is today. “She died before I could’ve have done anything for her, but I am doing what I can for whoever I can because of what she did for me.”
After almost three decades of coaching, Black, with yet a great deal of coaching left in him, has taken a back seat to this way of life. This has allowed him to express his gift for designing, by creating billboards, signs and bus sheds through his business, Moulded Designs.
This however does not mean that he has exited the world of sports. Instead, he has been directing his passion for sports to an organisation established to give support to the betterment of athletes and resource persons in the sports arena. The organisation called the Guyana Committee of Services was formed by Black and a number of other sports enthusiasts including: Joseph Ramkumar, Odessa Primus, Sean Devers, Lyndon ‘Jumbie’ Jones and Bill Rogers, all of whom serve as executive members.
The committee was brought into being two years ago when efforts were being made to lend support to former national boxer, Clive Atwell, who was in dire need of a surgery.
“We were able to come together and help raise funds to help him travel to the United States for him to get that surgery with the support of Lady Ira [an Executive Legislative Aide who helps to ensure that Guyanese, particularly those in New Jersey, get needed support]. He [Atwell] has been able to get a new lease on life because of our efforts,” said a contented Black.
In recognition of his years of outstanding involvement in sports, Black was earlier this year conferred with a national award – The Golden Arrow of Achievement.
“I feel good about that award because actually it is not only for me, but it is a recognition for athletics and all of the persons who assisted me over the years to make success in athletics possible,” said a modest Black.
To complement his national award for dedication and commitment to athletics, today we at Kaieteur News’ name Leslie Black our ‘Special Person’ of the week.

 

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