JAAA unfazed by coach concern

Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) President Garth Gayle says that he is confident in the competence and quality of the national coaching contingent for the Tokyo Olympics. The coaching squad will not include specialised hurdles or jumps coaches.

The 14-member management, coaching, and medical staff for Jamaica’s track and field team was announced on Thursday with JAAA treasurer Ludlow Watts serving again as team manager.

SprinTec Track Club’s Maurice Wilson will lead the team as part of the six-man coaching staff which includes Julian Robinson, Reynaldo Walcott, and MVP Track Club’s Paul Francis.

While this team will not consist of coaches responsible for those specific disciplines, Gayle says that the group is fully capable of bringing out the best in the team in their various disciplines regardless.

“It is not wise or good to say that there isn’t a jumps coach,” Gayle told The Gleaner. “All the coaches are competent in their own right and so will be able to take care of the team.

“It needs to be understood we are working with a numbers game and we do not have the luxury to take more coaches as we would have loved and happy to have done as we would have been able to do for the World [Athletics] Championships. At the World Championships, we have more latitude to make more selections. So we would have done the best that we can.”

Seven athletes will be competing in jump-related disciplines at the Games including the reigning long jump world champion and national record holder Tajay Gayle, and World Athletics Championships triple jump silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts.

Wilson says that he understands the limitations on the number of coaches that can be included, considering the COVID-19 restrictions for Japan. However, Wilson said that he would have been comfortable with one more coach in the team to balance the workload given the demands required for the Games.

CONFIDENT IN TEAM

“I take comfort in the fact that the persons in charge are professionals and if they say we can’t, there is no room for anybody else, then I understand that,” Wilson said. “But it must be noted that it is always going to be difficult having gone to four Olympics, [but] never in a pandemic, not understanding what [the conditions are in Tokyo], working with just five other coaches.”

Despite the challenges that he expects to face, Wilson said that he is confident in the ability of the team to maximise the potential for medals at the Olympics given the number of coaches and the four massage therapists who are included in the management team.

“I think all persons who are going there will give of their best and will work twice as hard,” he said. “My only issue is that I am hoping and praying that we don’t have any unforeseen circumstances where persons get sick. Because you always have to have contingencies. That is where my issue is but I don’t think that the numbers will affect the performance, per se.”

daniel.wheeler@gleanerjm.com

Jamaica’s technical team for Tokyo Games

Management

Ludlow Watts

Heleen Francis

Ian Forbes

Coaches

Maurice Wilson

Paul Francis

Julian Robinson

Reynaldo Walcott

Michael Frater

Jerry Holness

Medical

Dr Warren Blake

Physio

(To be named)

Massage therapists

Keniel Brown

Okeile Stewart

Romorio Barrett

Damion Rowe