Arima, Trinidad–born
and bred
Dr. Cliff Bertrand is fortunate to have been on both sides of the sporting and education divides. As a Trinidad & Tobago Olympian and a New York City Board of Education School Administrator. He did his undergraduate work at New York University. His graduate work at Brooklyn College, Yeshiva University of Social Sciences, NYU and Columbia University where he accumulated quite a vocabulary of experiences. He is an ABA certified law student, Queens College, Cuny.
Dr. Cliff Bertrand is a grassroots product of Arima Boys RC Primary School, Ideal and Progressive
Educational Institute where he excelled at football representing the
NFL. He competed at Track & Field.
He was a member of
the only West Indies Federation Olympic Team to Rome Olympics in
1960. He returned to the Olympics in Tokyo four years later
representing Trinidad & Tobago. He declined the offer to compete
at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico.
He started his
teaching career at Tunapuna Govt Secondary School at El Dorado Rd,
Tunapuna teaching Science and Health. Mr Alleyne was the Principal.
He founded a netball team which won the T&T Secondary School
Netball Championship. Lystra Lewis was the organizer from the
Ministry of Education. He developed a track and field team which won
the Secondary School Championship for 2 consecutive years in the
Girls Division.
He founded Abilene
Wildcats Athletic Club in his home town of Arima, Trinidad.
He coached Track &
Field at Jamaica High School in Queens, NY, city champs, NYC Youth
Games Tack & Field Team, National Champs. He coached Martin
Luther King Jr. High School to ten consecutive Borough Soccer
Championships.
Cliff was acclaimed
Coach Of The Year by the PSAL – Public School Athletic League of
New York City. He received the Mayor’s Citation of New York City
for his contribution to sports. Under the Abraham Beam
Administration, he was the Head Coach of the NY City Youth Games Team
Championship in Baltimore. He was awarded the Martin Luther King Jr.
Award for his contribution to sports in NY State.
He was the first
Caribbean athlete to be head coach of a major institution at the NCAA
Division 1 Level in Track & Field and Cross Country, NYU.
