Troublesome ways lead Dean to Coaching

CHERYL HAREWOOD • December 12, 2019

From his secondary school days he was considered a troublemaker even though, by all reports, he was a top performer at primary school.

In fact, Dean Squires, Barbados’ sole known full-time basketball sports evangelist, volunteer basketball coach and mentor, is quick to admit that he was no “sweet bread” during his early schooldays. Yes, he was an academic, head boy, and top student at St John Primary school when he graduated in 1986, but he also had to fight his demons.

Today, he is in a much better place and has been able to use basketball to change the lives of many young people across the island.

It was back in September of 1986, that he found it so hard to transition to secondary school when he entered Queen’s College that he determined in his heart to “just give trouble”.

“It was a rude awakening for me at Queen’s College when I discovered that I was no longer the biggest and strongest student, as was the case at primary school. Rather, I was now one of the youngest students on the block,” Squires said.

Faced with this reality, he felt the only way he could make his presence felt and overcome peer pressure was to put on aggressive front.

In fourth and fifth form Squires became aware of his advantage in sports and more so basketball. Although Queen’s College did not have basketball facilities, he was recruited as a basketball player.

“I was now about 15 years old and realised that I had wasted some of my teenaged years. As a member of the basketball team I was introduced to structure and discipline. I began to have a measure of success, which saw me moving on to become a member of the combined schools basketball team, and later, the Boys’ Junior National programme.

“Through this experience I saw a change in my behaviour and mindset. I also knew that my heart was still evil, but the discipline helped me to manage my behaviour,” Squires pointed out.

He became so focused on using basketball to chart his way forward and to help young lives that when he graduated from Queen’s College in 1993, Squires offered to take up the role of “volunteer coach,” just so the school would continue to have a basketball team.

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Coaches, athletes, volunteers, parents, family and friends, it is my pleasure to speak with you today on the occasion of the 23 rd Anniversary of Combined Faith Sports Evangelism Ministry. For over 20 years Combined Faith (CF) Christian Sports Evangelism Ministry has been using sports and leadership development to impact and change the lives of young people across Barbados. The organisation has worked with schools, churches, sports clubs, and community-based groups to deliver high quality coaching and training to ensure the all-round development of athletes and coaches. CF was officially launched in May 2000 through the vision of founder Mr. Dean A. Squires born out of his passion for God, love for basketball and people empowerment. Recognising that the church had lost its appeal and influence among Youth who were facing several social problems, Dean and his team sought to reach out to this target group using a universal language that has taught many life skills and provided many opportunities for youth; sports! Sport is seen as a powerful and cost-effective tool to help children and young people overcome violence, discrimination, and disadvantage in their lives and to build unity. Combined Faith has held programs in seven (7) sporting disciplines namely, basketball, football, netball, volleyball, track & field, road tennis, and table tennis. As you know, one of our headline initiatives is now the “Shoot Fuh Life” basketball tournament. This most recent April-May SHOOT FUH LIFE Tournament No.2 hosted by Combined Faith and sponsored by PEAK features: · 80 Students of · 11 Secondary + 2 Primary Schools from · 72 Communities in · 9 of the Parishes across Barbados Nelson Mandela once said that: “Sport has the power to change the world, it has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people, in a way that little else does, it speaks to youth in a language that they understand, sport can create hope where once there was only despair”. “It is more powerful than governments in breaking down all types of racial barriers, it loves in the face of all types of discrimination”. He further indicated that the real legacy of sports is “where the rules of the game are the same for everyone and behavior is guided by fair play and good sportsmanship”. We need this reality in a world where so much discrimination based on age, sex, education and social status exist. This year as we celebrate our 23 rd Anniversary, we will be delighted if you will chose to partner with us. As a charity, we rely on donations and partnerships to fund our programs and achieve our mission. We believe that by partnering with you, we can amplify our impact on the lives of young people. Today, we launch CF 23-Day Challenge. We encourage you to: Be 1 of 1000 change-makers to donate $23.00 to Combined Faith (CF) Sports! $23 in 23 days to celebrate 23 Years !!! Only $1 a day! As you Join the CF 23-Day Challenge you will be completing 23 exercises in 23 days and contribute $23 ($1 a day) to our programming as we celebrate 23 years in ministry during 2023! The Challenge will run from May 30 to June 21, 2023 So … Take the challenge, record and share why you support CF Sports on social media. Donate. Use our hashtag: #CFChallenge2023 Tag us, so we can repost your recording. Partnering with our charity can provide numerous benefits, including positive brand association, network opportunities, portfolio-building opportunities and community involvement as we give back! Of course some of you may be wondering, if you can give more that $23 and the answer is absolutely! In fact, We encourage you to do so! You can donate either through our Donation Cards, Scotia Bank, Republic Bank or Payce Digital. Please visit our website cffcabarbados.org/donate for more information. These funds will be critical in contributing to the objectives of our Strategic Plan 2022-2025 which has three (3) Strategic Objectives: · Enhance Sports Participation · Inspire Positive Change · Be Fit for the Future Let us go forward courageously, as we move into this new era of transformation, through sports for good! I thank you. Blessings!