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By Neto Baptiste
The choice to leave his role as Principal of the Princess Margaret School (PMS) was much tougher than the decision to accept the government’s offer to become the country’s Commissioner of Sports.
This is according to Dr Colin Greene who, on Tuesday, publicly addressed news indicating he will leave PMS and become the new Commissioner of Sports.
“The most difficult part for me is that I am going to wake up September missing the students because for a long time I didn’t like big people. Big people are complicated; I prefer children because children are real, they are like German Shepherds, they can sniff fraud from a distance. Big People will smile with you and stab you in the back, so I prefer children because whatever it is they bring to you, they bring to you,” he said.
“I also know, from the wide span of experience that I have had in management — not just locally but regionally and internationally — I may have something to bring to the table where national organisation is concerned. But I also understand and humbled by the fact that you can’t lead unless you understand that your vision has to be a shared vision, it can’t be just what you think,” he added.
News broke last week that the educator, who took the reins of PMS in 2002, is set to leave the post and take up the Commissioner of Sports role once earmarked for former West Indies captain and batsman, Sir Richie Richardson.
The news sent shockwaves through the teaching fraternity, moreso among current and former students of PMS as Greene, revered for his drive to twin education and sports, has become an iconic figure in Antigua and Barbuda.
The principal said it was a difficult decision to make.
“The type of principal that I am, it takes a lot of energy and I do things from the front, and I am not sure you can do that at 65, and you always have to be mindful you don’t get to the point of diminishing returns because when you exist too long in a space, you begin to take things for granted and you begin to think you own the place and that’s the worse thing that could happen to any leader. Things that you would give greater thought, you no longer give greater thought and you think you could just make the decision and good decisions are made by considering data and all of the factors,” he said.
Greene, in his new role, will oversee policy formation, school sports, national associations while undertaking the development of national policies.
“Primarily, the job description is to oversee policy formation and liaison with sports at every level; the schools, the associations and how to strengthen them. To develop national policies that would guide the functioning of sports and that includes public relations, that includes facilities, how we treat our elite athletes so the policy formation side of it will be my work so my job is to work with the director and her team and with the associations,” the principal said.
Greene is slated to officially take up his new role on August 1.
Government, in September last year, announced that Sir Richie was to be appointed Commissioner of Sports, replacing former senator, Colin James who had previously held the position. In May, the former West Indies player revealed that his packed schedule as an ICC Elite Match Referee did not afford him the time to fully take on the role.
In March, popular sports journalist and politician Joel Rayne was appointed Deputy Commissioner of Sports.
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