By Prince Acquah
Cape Coast, July 24, GNA – The University of Cape Coast (UCC) badminton club has held a two-day tournament in honour of its retired coach, Mr Jacob Evans Wilson, who began his coaching career some 50 years ago.
Throughout his career, Coach Wilson made a momentous impact in nurturing young talents and producing prominent players both at home and abroad for African games and the world stage.
Coach Wilson started his project in Takoradi in the year 1970 and transited into coaching at the national level in 1972, exactly two years after his astute professionalism in coaching and technical know-how saw the limelight.
He led his team to the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Scotland after which they won Silver in Mauritius in 2018 and won bronze in Lagos in the same year in separate competitions.
In 2020, they won bronze in Algeria in another competition.
The retired coach in a short remark, indicated that badminton was a disciplined game and urged upcoming talents to apply themselves to perfect their craft for Africa and world tournaments.
“In badminton, a coach will train you but you have to train yourself further,” he said.
He urged all lovers of the game to support the club in every possible way to enhance their capacity and build a stronger team.
He also entreated the current players to teach the younger generation to ensure a seamless transition from one generation to the other.
Some of the players who were nurtured by Coach Wilson eulogised him for the impact he made in their lives, describing him as one of the best coaches in Africa.
“Coach Wilson is a father and I have learnt a lot from him. Since he is ageing, we are not waiting to hear the bad news before we celebrate him,” Mr Victor Provencal said.
“Coach Wilson has been a father of Ghana badminton.
“He taught me how to play badminton from age five and pushed me to the national team where I became national champion and went ahead to win a medal for Ghana,” another player said.
Camara Kwesi Obeng, a badminton Coach with UCC, observed that the country had a bright future for the game and believed that Ghana could soon become the master of the continent.
He explained that the university had instituted a system to ensure consistent training and team building, adding that the club was open to everyone who was willing to join.
“Most of them are graduating from the universities. Some of them have Masters and some are doing their PhDs.
“So, we are going to take Africa by storm and before they realise, we will be manning badminton in Africa,” he added.
GNA