Enough is Enough: Athletes Request of a New National Coach

The fallout from the recent attempt by the GAA to split the unity of Ghana’s elite athletes by calling for the expulsion of Leonard Myles-Mills from the team to Abuja seems to have backfired. In an unprecedented move senior members of the Ghana Athletes Association, have renewed their call for the removal of S.S. Atuahene as the Chief athletics coach.

The concerned athletes are beginning to wonder why SS Atuahene has been shielded for so long despite his dubious nature. Last year, SS Atuahene as part of the GAA selected a team for the Common Wealth Games that was rejected by the athletes on more than 2 occasions. The selections were rejected by the athletes who were tired of shadowy choices that often resulted in under par performances. But even more irritating to the athletes was that, the GAA was always quick to shift blame to them despite the fact that past failing teams were selected by the GAA.

The final insult to these fine athletes was discovering that their chief Coach was part of the deliberate actions to keep deserving athletes off the team. Rather than fight for his athletes, Atuahene was busy “kicking out” some of the best athletes Ghana had. In their place, he was selling team spots to the highest bidder i.e., visa for cash.

Yet, the story does not end there. The athletes are also accusing Atuahene of purposely pitting athletes against each other in an effort to split the unity and sense of purpose needed for success. That is, to ensure his survival at the expense of the team. However, it gets worse. Records indicate that in 1991, Atuahene was investigated for allegations of sexual harassment of female athletes and for trading team spots for favors.

According to the senior athletes, all they want is “A chief coach they can respect and know for a fact that he or she has the welfare of the athletes i.e., team, at hand”. We want an individual who can serve as an advocate for the athletes whilst bridging the gap between the us and the GAA. Currently we have none of that. What we have is an individual who has squandered every opportunity for rehabilitation.

However, to save the country from the embarrassment of a boycott, the athletes are planning to request the removal of Atuahene from the team roster. When questioned about the impact that would have on the team performance, it was pointed out that these same group of athletes performed as well as they have ever had without a coach during the recent world championships in Paris. Moreover, it has be pointed out that the assistant coach for the team to Abuja, has more experience and better performance credentials than SS Atuahene. Indeed, it has been confirmed that Joe Apreku, the assistant coach has produced more elite national athletes over the past decade than any living coach in Ghana.

Perhaps, it is time that we held our coaches to the same standards as our athletes. That is, coaches must travel based on how well his or her athletes are performing. It does not make sense that other coaches in Ghana train and nurture athletes to the national level and yet, never get to travel to significant competitions with their athletes. How can that be fair? Is this not a case of “monkey dey work baboon dey chop?

Some may argue that these coaches may not have the need certificates to hold the position of chief coach. I would beg to differ. The bottom line is performance. What good is a Ph.D. in coaching if you can’t produce any quality athletes nor are you respected by your team? If “Baba Yaro” with an elementary school education background can produce the needed quality athletes, then Baba Yaro should be our chief coach.