BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - FOR many years, track and field enthusiasts have seen countless athletes emerging from Jamaican and making a name for themselves and country on the global scene.
These athletes are being trained in Jamaica and the sprinters are collectively seen as the best in the world, with Usain Bolt and Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce leading the male and female categories respectively.
In a recent interview with SKNVibes, Coaching Coordinator of the St. Kitts-Nevis Amateur Athletic Association (SKNAAA), Lonzo Wilkinson expressed his desire to adopt a similar approach in St. Kitts and Nevis to produce top class athletes.
Wilkinson believes that Jamaica’s approach to athletics is workable in St. Kitts-Nevis because the twin-island Federation also have professional coaches who are capable of producing world class athletes.
“I really want to do like the Jamaicans and produce top class athletes at home who don’t have to go oversees to any professional coach. We have professional coaches here already and we can stay home and produce elite athletes and keep the money in the country rather than sending money overseas to the coaches. Also, we have a better interest in the athletes from here.”
Wilkinson is of the view that some athletes believe that because they “went off to college, their impression is that one has to go overseas to perform well under the guidance of overseas-based coaches”.
He however noted that “one of the things I have seen when I look at the local coaches, and being around them, is that we have what it takes but you just need the athlete to get it done”.
Wilkinson also indicated that when athletes are trained in the Federation, local coaches would have a greater interest in the country.
“The coaches out there just want you to kill yourself to run for their college or for whatever. They don’t care about the country, and we here are about country above self.”
The Coaching Coordinator added that while it is good for athletes to attend colleges, he is of the view that not every athlete would be eligible for such opportunities.
“When it comes down to it, is not all the athletes will be able to go to a college. And there are some who will have to stay home and train at home.”
