Wed. Jan. 27, 2021– Dear Amandala Sports,
(This is in response to the article on Mr. Roches in Amandala for Tuesday, January 26, 2021.)
I have been following up the careers of these two great athletes and what I admire about both of them is that they are proud of their Garifuna and Belizean heritage. There are other Belizeans in high schools, colleges and universities playing all of the American sports and aspiring to be drafted into the professional leagues. I have not met these two young men personally, but both of them are my relatives who grew up in another state here in the United States and are much younger than I am. Milton Palacio committed himself on many occasions to play for our country of Belize in several international tournaments that Belize competed in.
Belize does not have an American Football team yet, but I am certain that if we had one, Mr. Roches would be playing on our national team also. In reading Mr. Roches’ bio, it is stated that he also played baseball and basketball in college. Mr. Palacio played for several basketball teams in the United States and as a small forward; such is the nature of that position. He is still playing and coaching the sport that he dearly loves and I wish him all the best.
Mr. Roches will be playing in the Super Bowl, and he has a chance to be the first Belizean to win a Super Bowl Championship. The Kansas City Chiefs is the team that many people believe will win. Mr. Roches was originally drafted by that team when he came into the National Football League (NFL). I am rooting for Mr. Roches’ team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, because of him and his famous quarterback, Tom Brady. Many of us will be glued to the television on that day to await the outcome.
The government of Belize should have an ongoing program with Belizean American players, to include them in all the Belize Sporting Development Programs (BSDP). If implemented, many young Belizean athletes would learn more skills from these players that they are not taught in Belize.
