Local coaches have been encouraged to come out and participate in the USATF Coaches Courses, as it is a great opportunity to further their skills in the sport.
The course, which starts today, will be held at Thomas A. Robinson Track and Field Stadium instead of the Ministry of Education building. It was reported that more than 100 people have expressed interest and signed up for the course. At the completion, coaches will be awarded with their certifications from the USATF. The course is sanctioned by the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) and will be hosted by the Bahamas Association of Athletic Coaches (BAAC).
"We are very excited about the response for the coaches course. Our target was to reach the government schools and see if we can get a program started where the inner-city kids could stay at the schools and start their development from there.
"We are of the opinion that we lose too many kids from the younger kids because there is not enough interest," said Shaun Miller, a member of the BAAC.
"We probably will be looking at doubling the amount of athletes that The Bahamas can produce on the world class in the long run.
"We really want to target the Family Islands. We are a little disappointed that we don't have the funding to bring more coaches, not just teachers, out of the Family Islands. We wanted to target all of the major Family Islands to place coaches in strategic points because I believe that a kid doesn't have to move to Nassau to further his training career in track and field. Hopefully one day we will have more coaches clinics set up on the Family Islands to accomplish that goal."
A week of activities is planned, starting with the distance clinic, scheduled for Monday, November 4 at Fort Charlotte, starting at 4 p.m. On Tuesday, coaches will visit the Bahamas Association of the Physically Disabled, and Wednesday is Coaches Appreciation Day. The Bay Street Mile will take place on Saturday, November 9, followed by a coaches grill-out at Goodman's Bay.
The week will end with a church service at Bahamas Faith Ministries on Sunday.
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