NSC makes Sports Psychologist, Physiotherapist accessible for athletes/federations

The National Sports Commission (NSC) will embark on bringing about a structured approach to providing physiotherapy and psychological services to athletes and federations.

This is according to Director of Sport, Steve Ninvalle.

Ninvalle shared in a press release on Saturday that in an effort to minimize injuries and bolster the psyche of local athletes, the expertise of Sports Psychologist, Noelle Smith, and Physiotherapist, Eliecer Ducasse Ramiez of Cuba will be made available to athletes and federations.

The pair have been employed at the NSC for the past three years, but according to Ninvalle, their knowledge and expertise have not been maximized to their fullest potential because of poor supervision.

“We have two young professionals who are eager to work and we will make sure that they now ply their trade across the length and breadth of our 83,000 square miles. While they were employed by the NSC, there was not a structured approach with how they dealt with athletes and associations. As a matter of a fact, some of these associations were not even aware that these services were available.”

Smith was recently dispatched to work with sportsmen and women in Region Ten.

He added, “so in bringing structure to it, we will maximize their expertise and the athletes and the federations will benefit from that.”

Smith and Ramiez will start to work with the 12 Core Sport Disciplines: Athletics, Badminton, Basketball, Volleyball, Swimming, Squash, Hockey, Rugby, Tennis, Table Tennis, Cricket and Football along with other disciplines.

Ninvalle further indicated that psychology and physiotherapy are fundamentals for athletes around the world “so more or less Guyana is now playing catch up.”

He concluded by stating: “We are making it known that we now have a structured approach open to each and every sports discipline in Guyana.”