Coaches, Officials ‘flesh out’ matters at AAG Retreat
IN SESSION – Coaches and officials during the presentation session of the Athletics Association’s One-Day Retreat.
IN SESSION – Coaches and officials during the presentation session of the Athletics Association’s One-Day Retreat.

On a bright Sunday morning, Council Members, Coaches and Officials met at Splashmins Resort to put their heads together to ‘find a new way forward’ for Athletics.

It was a retreat organised by the Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) and sponsored by Digicel.
Coaches and officials were split into two groups, to put on paper ways to improve their areas and athletes.
Among the areas put forward were training and re-training of officials, the need for equipment, setting up of an Officials’ body or identification of Representatives from the various regions to manage and communicate with officials, and remuneration for travel for meets and road races. Notably, officiating within the athletics fraternity is on a volunteer basis.
The coaches identified two broad areas –Competition and Development of Athletics.
Among the sub-areas – a review of the coaching programmes and better implementation of the said programme, improvement of training grounds, and the setting up of a High Performance Centre.
There was also the call for better networking with various stakeholders –media, sponsors, the ministries of Sport and Education and incentives for coaches and athletes.
Before the coaches and officials were split into respective groups, President of AAG Aubrey Huston had some strong words for them.
He said the retreat was needed and set the tone for discussions.
‘I know it may be lingering in some of your minds as to why are we here, or people may come here with different objectives, different purposes so I think the first question before we get into our retreat is to address that first question – why are we here? Unless you can answer in the affirmative that you’re here for the development of the athletes and athletics I think you’re at the wrong place.’
He spoke of the development of coaches and investing in their advancement.
‘Let me make it a little simple, it makes no sense that you sit with a Level 5 Certificate on the wall of your office or your home while you’re walking around with your chest up in the air saying I’m a Level 5 Coach, when over the years when you’re a Level 1 Coach, athletes in your fold were doing 11 flat and you’re a Level 5 Coach and they’re doing 11.2; I think the IAAF and by extension the AAG would have wasted their time on you.’
Mr. Huston said it was not about re-inventing the wheel.
‘Since becoming president – I’ve worked tirelessly with my council to ensure that the new national approach to athletes take form – a new dispensation. It is not to do away with what happened prior to us taking office, it’s to enhance what was done before and take it to the next level.’
To the officials he noted that timing of athletes and the organisation and execution of meets should be ‘spot on’.
‘We’ve heard reports of athletes coming back from overseas at a total loss when they get out there because the standards that they’re accustomed to here are not comparative with what happens there; the way you approach the call room, your behaviour, what is expected, what kind of equipment you can have in the call room, how many calls you get before your event, those things we need to address.’
And on the athletes, he told the gathering that the focus should also be paid to the social aspects of the lives of athletes. The primary focus he, however, noted should be on getting them to run faster times, and drug-free.
“Whatever the system is, whatever the means are, we must find one and we must stick with it and we must set in those documents that we’re going to produce various test periods, testing where we are, what we want to achieve by 2015, 2016, 2017. And if we surpass our targets fine, and if we don’t we need to answer the question what next we need to do in order to get there.”
Huston continued, “My family members, don’t make money the issue, please do this in the absence of thinking how much this will cost, don’t be blinded by high figures that you think it may cost. We as administrators will so cut our suit according to our cloth.”

(By Leeron Bumell)

 

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