Athletics stakeholders ponder the difficulty of transitioning

THE TOPIC of how junior athletes transition to the senior level remains a major point of discussion in track and field circles. At the recent Howard Aries lecture series, the subject was again one of the main points discussed, with esteemed track and field experts such as Stephen Francis, Maurice Wilson, Dwayne Extol, and Okeile Stewart presenting their views on the issue.

Francis, one of the coaches at the world-renowned MVP track club, pointed out that high school athletes who have not exceeded their limits, have much more in reserve after leaving high school, and stand a better chance of making a successful transition into the senior ranks.

Although it is well documented that average high schools athletes develop better into senior athletes, Francis noted that young athletes are forced to be fiercely competitive, as they are all seeking to make life better for themselves and their families.

So the better they are in high school, the greater their chances of getting a scholarship to go abroad and make life for themselves.

“First of all we need to understand what we in Jamaica call successful juniors is an overreaction of what they see people do at champs. Historically, at Champs, we aren’t world-class at the junior level.

“I will admit that the last 10 to 15 years this has changed somewhat, especially at the class-one level for the boys and any level for the girls.

“The performances have been closer to world-class levels, even though there has not been much change in our ability to get medals at the top level in the juniors. The performances at Champs have improved drastically over the years. But that is part of the problem,” he told the gathering.

“Because without a doubt, the better you are at 18 and 19 years old, the less likely you are to make big jumps as you grow older.”

He pointed that women stop growing at 18, and although men have a couple of years of relatively slow growth until they get to 21, the improvements they saw while they were at school were fuelled primarily by growth spurts and that is not a true or certain indicator that an athlete is top-class.

However, he reasoned that it was not only the glory of Champs that motivate these young athletes to train the way they do.

“A big factor in the performances is the fact that there are extremely good coaches at the high school level in Jamaica, and those athletes, in a lot of cases, are trained similarly to how you train adults.

“You may say this is not right. But before you say that, ask yourself why are these kids training (like that) in the first place. Why are they going out there every day after school in the sun hot and sometimes at some schools, twice a day.

“The reason for the most part is that they can leave Jamaica. They can get themselves an education and to do that, they have to be good,” he continued.

“So you can’t say that they should not train hard because they need to compete against all those other Americans, Nigerians, Ghanians and Kenyans and whosoever else, who are all seeking to go to the states to get themselves a better life.”

HARD TRAINING

He said given all those factors, athletes are going to train hard and coaches are going to train them hard because they all want something for themselves.

“Given all of that you are going to find that it is difficult, even if they had the ability in the first place. Because a lot of them, the only reason they are looking so good as juniors is because they have great coaches.

“When they leave those coaches or even when those same coaches continue to coach them (as seniors), it is just not the same and that is why I think we should not be alarmed, understanding that most of the people we see as juniors are not going to make it. And it is the same for every single country worldwide,” he commented.

Former Wolmer’s captain Dwayne Extol agreed that the rigid training regime athletes endure at the high-school level is borne out of necessity to make a better life.

He said even though only one per cent of top junior athletes transition successfully to the senior level, all is not lost for those who achieve great success in high school and at the world junior level.

However, he said the gap for improvement is so small, athletes need to have a very high level of discipline and commitment in order to transition successfully.

“I had a roommate at junior college and I think he is one of the few persons who has done well at the junior level and has gone on to win Olympic and World Championship titles, and I mentioned him, Kirani James, as there is another factor for those who aspire to be great. It requires a different level of discipline.

“We get caught up in the fanfare and the cauldron that is Champs, because for some of us it is the be all and end all. But when I think about how Kirani was able to transition from winning the World Youth, winning World Juniors, winning the World Championship, winning the Olympic title. The level of discipline that is required, I don’t think most of us as junior athletes will ever have it because the hype that comes with Champs is something that you want to bask in.

“Sometimes you have to understand that you have to step out of the limelight because you get lost in the foray that you are a Champs star and you believe in the hype that comes with it,” he said.

“But it requires more than just hype to get you from a 10.11 at the high school level to get you running 9.8, 9.7 as a male athlete over the 100m.

“It is a lot of discipline that is required and I think that as professionals, not just as athletes, a lot of us don’t have that discipline to move higher in our careers. So I think that there is so much to think about when it comes on to the transition,” he added.

livingston.scott@gleanerjm.com