The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

SHE quietly went about doing her duties as a coach following her playing days as a versatile softball, basketball and volleyball player and first female president of the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association.

Edna Forbes, best described by those whom she came in contact with as a “stern, but competitive” person, died on Saturday. She was 60.

Varel Davis, who follows in the footsteps as the current president of the GSSSA, said it’s a sad day for their organisation because Forbes was a very hard worker and an excellent physical education teacher and coach.

“She wanted the best for the association as well as to see that the student athletes succeed in various sports,” Davis said. “Whenever me and her have conversations, she always encourages me on the good job that I am doing.”

“I always appreciate her words of encouragement. She will be truly missed. On behalf of the coaches and Physical Education teachers and coaches in the Government Secondary Schools Sports Association, we want to send our heartfelt condolences to her family on her passing. May her soul rest in peace.”

Alfred Forbes, the first president of the GSSSA when it was formed in 1993, remembered when Edna Forbes defeated him in 2004 to become the first female president, serving for one year.

“Edna was a no nonsense person, who did the best she could,” said Alfred Forbes, who was re-elected in 2006 and remained as president until 2017 when he retired.

“I thought she was a hard worker. She was always present. She just couldn’t get the majority of the membership to follow suit behind her. That left a dissension in her administration.”

Alfred Forbes, however, when he left AF Adderley and join the staff at RM Bailey, before he went to CI Gibson in 2006, they had the opportunity to work closely together

“I want to extend, on behalf of my family, our condolences and hope that God give them the strength to continue and be the kind of people that they need to be for her,” said Alfred Forbes.

Jack Knowles, a long-time coach at CH Reeves and a mentor of Forbes and a close family friend, classified the deceased as the prototype of HO Nash coach Patty Johnson, who is relentless in getting the best out of their players.

“Edna played a little basketball, volleyball and softball. But when she played softball, she played the infield at third base and shortstop for a while. She was also a catcher,” Knowles recalled.

“As a softball player, she was tough. She was like a (Cynthia) ‘Mother’ Pratt at third. She didn’t have a Mother Pratt bat, but she could field the ball and she wasn’t scared. A lot of people didn’t want to play third because it was the hot spot and a lot of people didn’t want to catch because you had to be in the game and it was rough. you got beat up a lot, but she was tough.”

As a coach, Knowles said Forbes had a ‘no nonsense” attitude. He remembered how after his team won a game against Forbes’ team, she made her players run laps.

“She loved her players. She treated them as if they were her own, similar to what I did with mine,” he said. “But she brought a bus and she rode around making sure they had a ride. She even sold items at school to help them out with getting their uniforms.”

Having watched her grow up in Montell Heights and in Englerston through his interaction with her brother, Reggie Forbes, Knowles said he was concerned about her eating habits and he tried to encourage her after the loss of their mother.

“Ain’t many people Edna called her friend,” Knowles pointed out. “She didn’t mix up. She would go to work, take care of her children and take care of her mother.

“After her mother died, she slowly got ill because she was only part time at a primary school and part time at RM Bailey. She couldn’t establish herself so I think that had a mental effect on her.”

During her tenure as the president of the GSSSA, Knowles said Edna Forbes turned things around, providing an opportunity for the student-athletes to be rewarded personally with certificates and trophies for their accomplishments at a luncheon.

“When her term was up, Edna went back to coaching,” Knowles said. “If she is for you and she sees you as serious, she will give 110 percent. That’s how she was. She was a wonderful woman and a hard worker, who was dedicated to her craft.”

In her heyday, long-time manager Sydney ‘Bobby Baylor’ Fernander said Edna Forbes had the ability to play for the Bahamas women’s national softball team, but she couldn’t get the time off as a teacher to travel when he was in charge of the team.

“She played for me one year or so, but I played against her and I thought she was probably one of the best, if not the best catchers in softball,” said Fernander of their interaction in the New Providence Softball Association. “She was a very good player.”

Edna Forbes, predeceased by her parents, is survived by siblings John Jr, Reginald, Brendalee and Stephanie. Reginald, better known as Reggie, was a talented power forward with the Beck’s Cougars and is now the Dean of Students at St Augustine’s College.