Members of the Scotiabank A team which won the 2009 Business House Open League title on Saturday, July 25, at the Leila Robinson Courts. They defeated Jamaica Broilers Group 29-16. Back row (from left): Wayne Shaw (assistant manager), Andrea Markland, Ann-Marie Grant (assistant coach), Diana Polack (manager), Naudia Brown (captain), Marsha Murphy, Kameika Sherwood, Viola Francis-Cummings, Nichala Gibson, Winston Nevers (coach). Front row: (from left) Trecia Stewart, Tennisha Bernard and Nicole Farquharson. - Contributed

The Scotiabank Group has enjoyed a fantastic year in Business House sports, winning a significant number of titles in netball and football.

According to Wayne Shaw, sports and recreation co-ordinador at Scotiabank, this success is not by accident.

"It has come by dint of hard work, commitment, proper planning and funding, not to mention a strong emphasis on training.

"The teams train very hard at Scotiabank and this, more than anything, has contributed to the tremendous success in our sporting endeavours this year," added Shaw, who is also president of the Business House Football Association, which is affiliated to the Kingston and St Andrew Football Association (KSAFA).

He was quick to add that discipline is of critical importance.

"We have to instil this into our players on the various teams for without discipline and sportsmanship, winning becomes meaningless."

The Scotiabank Group won the KSAFA/Western Sports Business House Division I football league for the first time some weeks ago. They also won the Seprod five-a-side one-day rally at the beginning of the season, along with the dress parade on June 13. And if that wasn't enough the footballers, led by Nicholas McCreath, Donovan Hibbert, Damion Gordon, Ajuran Brown, Elgin Mitchell, Norway Knight, Richard West and Damion Crooks, captured the Inter-Bank football title, whipping JNBS 4-0 in the final last Sunday.

Scotiabank also contested the Business House KO final and were beaten 1-0 by Carib Cement, as well as the Challenge final between the league and knockout winners, where they also fell victim to Carib Cement, on penalty kicks.

netball team unbeaten

Kingston and St Andrew Business House President, Wayne Shaw (left), presents the Pronto Porridge Mix Trophy to captain Damion Gordon of Scotiabank Group. Scotiabank won the five-a-side rally held at the National Water Commission (NWC) field, Great House Boulevard. - Contributed

In netball, the Scotiabank A team swept both the Open and Senior leagues, as well as the one-day rally, going through the season unbeaten in all three competitions, thanks to a star-studded team which included current and former national senior and junior players Nichala Gibson, top shooter Marsha Murphy, Kamieka Sherwood, Andrea Maryland, Nicole Farquharson and captain Naudia Brown.

Their B team was not disgraced either, reaching the semi-finals in the Open and Senior leagues.

"Scotiabank also contested the Inter-Bank Cricket Competition earlier this year but unlike the footballers, we failed to impact," he disclosed.

"We withdrew from the Business House domino competition this season because the players weren't coming out to training. But the footballers and netballers made up for those shortcomings," said Shaw, who praised the efforts of Diana Polack, team manager for both netball and football, as well as football coach Calvert Fitzgerald, assistant coach Roy Welch and top netball coach Winston Nevers.

All in all, Shaw had no regrets.

"Although we would have loved to win the KO football title, when we lost to Carib Cement in the final we were not perturbed. Our main objective was to win the Division I title and when we beat The Gleaner 1-0 in the final it was a dream come true as our players had promised the management and coaches that they would make them a present of the title," he added.

"Scotiabank invests a lot of money in sports and this is very good for staff morale. We don't indulge in the practice of buying players to beef up our teams. We employ sportsmen based on their qualification ... once they are qualified academically we try to assist them in getting a job.

"In selecting our teams the Scotiabank Group can draw from a large pool of players at our branches islandwide, players who have done well in our inter-branch competitions.

"But as I said earlier, the emphasis is on physical preparation. Although the competitions don't start until June, we commence training on the first Saturday in February every year with sand training for prospective team members at the airport lighthouse. We even keep a training register to determine how often a player comes to the sessions.

"That has formed the basis for our success, but there are, of course, other factors such as dedication, team spirit and the fact that the management backs us 100 per and is repaid with good publicity. In this regard I would like to single out Michael Jones, senior vice-president for human resource, for his wholehearted support.

"Who could ask for anything more at Scotiabank where we are not only good at business, but also in sports."