Two jobs are better

Double-barrel titles are not uncommon in sports.

Manager-coach and player-coach are two of the most popular.

A 41-year-old former bus conductor has, has added to such titles.

Dennis Springer is groundsman/coach at the Coleridge and Parry (CP) school where he has carved a niche in both areas.

As a groundsman of seven years' experience, he has enjoyed a reputation of producing ideal pitches at the Ashton Hall, St. Peter school.

As a certified cricket coach for more than two years, he can boast of guiding CP to successive titles in the Cable & Wireless Under-15 competition.

Does this unusual dual role present any complications?

"I don't see any difficulty with the two jobs," he said.

"As long as you love your work you can get through with it. The two jobs are not hard."

Surely, there are some who may feel that in between innings when Springer might be rolling the pitch, he should be involved in dressing-room discussions.

Two options are put in place to conquer that eventuality.

"We normally have our team meetings before the game and during the game, I give the captain tips," he said.

"I also have an assistant groundsman and if the light roller is needed he does that and I can be with the team."

Springer's involvement in cricket does not end with being a coach and curator. He can also attach the title of scorer to his curriculum vitae.

He is proficient in using the high-tech Darnley Boxill Scoring System and, at the invitation of manager Jeff Broomes, he served as scorer for the Combined Schools North in the early 1990s.

It was in this role in 1993 that he first approached the late Keith Boyce about getting an opportunity as a groundsman.

At the time, the CP groundsman was about to retire and the school's long-serving games master Pedro Hinds paved the way for Springer's entry in spite of his limited experience in the field.

The most he did was to assist with the Saturday morning preparation when he used to open the bowling for the Transport Board in the Barbados Cricket League competitions during the 1980s.

"Since I never had any sort of experience in preparing pitches, I talked to a couple of old groundsmen in Barbados," Springer said.

Boyce also showed him a few things about pitch preparation and it was the former West Indies all-rounder who also prompted him to get involved in coaching.

"Keith Boyce had a dream that one of these days Pedro Hinds and myself would bring Coleridge and Parry's cricket back up to a high standard," Springer said.

"He always encouraged me not to stay in the role of preparing pitches, but to go on to further my endeavours."

Two years ago, Springer, therefore took and passed the regional junior coaching course.

He eventually took over as CP's coach mainly because of Hinds' wide-ranging duties.

Hinds asked him to supervise the cricket session and it was no turning back for Springer, who has been affectionately called "Dickets" from the time he was a toddler. To this day, he does not know why.

Born in St. Lucy, Springer is not short of praise for Boyce and Hinds, but there were others who also assisted the former medium-pacer who was good enough to capture 45 wickets in one of his ten seasons with Transport Board.

"I got a lot of help from the headmasters. They allowed me to do what I wanted to do," said the Coals Cave resident who was born in Connell Town.

Having worked as scorer, groundsman and coach, Springer singled out the last role as the one that has given him the most satisfaction.

But he will settle for any under one condition.

"To work with children is a joy," he said. "It is something that I will like to do as long as I am around. I'd like to continue in any capacity as long as it is dealing with cricket and children."