BASSETERE, St. Kitts - AFTER being deemed by some individuals a misfit for an athlete, Lonzo Antonio Wilkinson has turned out to be one of the best and most qualified coaches St. Kitts and Nevis has ever produced.
In the 1990s, Wilkinson had come to realise that his dream of being an athlete would only be a passing memory following an incident that had involved the Federation’s sprint ace Kim Collins.
Wilkinson Explained that quite often when he would have competed in the past, he normally would have brought up the rear. And with regard to the incident involving Collins, he stated that he was returning from an injury when the former World Champion stumbled, fell and still managed to regain his composure and won the race with relative ease.
“I was doing some recovery between 1995 and 1994. Kim [Collins] had just started to come on the scene and I was just coming back from the injury, and I saw Kim in a 60 meters and he fell in the start and he got back up and he just passed them standing up. And I said this isn’t for me anymore and I gave it up.”
Born and raised in Verchild’s Village, Wilkinson attended the village all-age school and thence to the Basseterre High School for the last three years of his school life before he started teaching at Verchild’s All-Age.
However, during that time he mused about becoming an athlete and started running at the late age of 17.
Wilkinson stated that he started his career in sports as a footballer and believed that he had the potential of becoming a sprinter, but that was seen as a joke by many people.
“I used to be the laughing stock. I used to come last and they used to laugh after me. I used to really like football. Like any athlete around, I started in football and I realised I had some speed and started training. And I realised I was getting faster, so I stuck with the sport and was involved in both track and field as well as football.”
Wilkinson explained what lead to his injury.
“What happened was our track club, S.L. Hosford’s Pace Setters, went to Jamaica. It was the first time I went on the surface and it was the relay and I was running the second leg. The baton was passed to me and by time I reached half way up the track I felt my hamstring. I still managed to pass the baton but it felt so bad! Was the first time I was in so much pain. I got rehab while I was there and got back on the track the next year.
“I got to the national championships and decided that I am going to bang everybody this year. I started off good way in front and I pulled my other hamstring. That threw straight on my face.”
He then spoke about how he got into track and field coaching.
“In 1996, a coaching course came around and I took the opportunity. As a young teacher I went and I top the course...I got the highest mark at the course and that is where my career started as a coach.
“In 1997, the offer came up to do the Level Two. At that time they were three levels - Level One, Level Two and Level Three - and since I was at the top of the course in Level One they offered me the opportunity to go and I went and I met a lot of coaching friends there.
“I did well! I didn’t topped the course but was in the top tier of the class and came back home successful for a Level Two Coach.”
Wilkinson noted that from there he started to excel and went off to college at Mid Western State.
“I studied Geology and I have a Bachelor of Science in Geology. I got back home in 2000 and a Lecturer Coaching Course came up and I went and passed that. So I am also an IAAF Lecturer for Coaches. Then the other Levels came up and I went and I did that. Right now I am top in terms of level of coaching for the IAAF.”
Wilkinson also highlighted his greatest achievement as a coach and athlete.
“As an athlete, my greatest achievement was representing my country. I represented my country at the OECS which was a big meet at the time. I have run with Ben Johnson, Joey Hazel, Winston Eddy and Colin Franks.
“As a coach, my greatest achievement is actually putting a national relay team together. There are some who felt everybody had to run 10 flat in order to get a good relay team. I believed if we have good chemistry we could medal. And in 2009 or 2010 I put a proposal together and got a team and we were successful in 2011 in Daegu.”
Coach Wilkinson is currently in Moscow, Russia leading the Federation’s World Championship team and is also Coaching Coordinator of the SKNAAA.
