2023 BLAZING IN BUDAPEST
USA. It’s harder here,” he tabled.
for example, it’s going to be tough for them to say no,” the veteran coach added.
Perhaps for that reason, Wilson suggests that those who want to combine professional track with academics take a careful look at what is on offer. “What is important in choosing an academic programme is to look at the melines that you are working with and to look at whether or not you can do modules. So you can do two modules this semester, two next semester, or you can even take a semester off,” he recommended. “I’ve seen where athletes like Parchment, a Dacres, Anastasia Leroy, Yanique Thompson, would have completed their programmes, would have gone through university and college programmes, and they were able to compete professionally,” he said, presenng Parchment, discus champion Fedrick Dacres, 2018 Commonwealth medal winners Leroy and Thompson as examples.
Wilson thinks financial help is needed from the public and private sectors. “They could look at providing opportunies for 15‐20 of our elite sportspersons, and what you need to do is forget about this talk of equity but look at mutually beneficial relaonships where these persons are at a level that they would bring branding based on their performances, whether in football, track and field or netball,” Wilson argued. “They would bring some branding,” noted the coach who guided Ristananna Tracey to the 400 hurdles bronze medal at the 2017 World Championships. “And in return, there is this assistance to finance both their training and their educaon.” It isn’t easy to evolve from high school standout to internaonal medal winner. But it can be done, and every effort must be made to make it easier, especially in countries where the populaon is small. We all enjoy the glory when they succeed.
“It can be done,” he underlined, “and I think it should be done.”
The problem is a worldwide one. As a global reference point, only ten of the 39 individual winners at the 2010 World Under‐20 meet have gone on to senior world tles. They include regional global stars Kirani James and Shaunae Miller‐Uibo. According to David Riley, Technical Leader to Jamaica’s 2021 and 2022 World Under‐20 team, “If we don’t stop seeing ourselves as a unit and in a vacuum, then we won’t see some of the same issues facing other naons and realise that there are a lot of lessons we can learn from other people,” he said. At home, the University of Technology conveyed many into the internaonal arena with an alliance with the MVP Track Club, ensuring top‐class guidance. As a parallel, UWI nurtured Parchment, McLeod and triple jumper Shanieka Rickes. However, both instuons have cut back their athlec programmes, and UTECH missed the 2023 Intercollegiate Championships completely. Coleman thinks this might be one reason more youngsters are going pro directly from high school. “Bear in mind that some of the youngsters are coming from a kind of impoverished background and so when somebody gets an offer at 18 or 19 years old and somebody comes with US$100,000
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