By Paul A. Reid, Staff Reporter
Dwight Barnett
WESTERN BUREAU:
AFTER COMPLETING his Diploma course at GC Foster Sports College in 1999 and smitten with the training bug, Dwight Barnett promised himself he would leave his mark on the coaching landscape in Jamaica.
Little did he know that his first opportunity as head coach would make him inherit one of the best High school athletes Jamaica, and by extension the world, had ever seen.
Barnett, a former daCosta Cup midfielder at York Castle High in St. Ann and member of the Juventus football team that took part in the St. Ann Division One hardly knew of Usain Bolt when he took over the programme at William Knibb at the start of last season.
Now under his guidance, Bolt is known worldwide after becoming the youngest ever world champion with a gold in the 200m at last year's IAAF World Junior Championships in Kingston and broke two records at Champs recently, the 400m, which he ran in 45.35 seconds, and the 200m in a National Junior Record 20.24 seconds.
The quiet, soft spoken Barnett's first coaching job was at the powerhouse St. Jago High where he worked with the girls high jumpers for one year, 2000.
Question: How did you come to be involved with William Knibb?
Barnett: I was a sub for Mr. Daniels at St. Jago so at the end of the year I had to find a job. I saw two advertisements, one for Tarrant and the other for William Knibb in 2001. I decided to apply for the one in Trelawny as this is where I am from and thought I would try that one first. I applied for the job and was successful.
Q: What did you know about William Knibb's programme before you took the job?
Barnett: I knew of former William Knibb athletes Michael Green, Marvin Anderson and Patrick Davidson so I knew they had a good programme going on. I told myself that I would try as best to fit in as best as possible. My main goal when I came to William Knibb was to develop the programme and build through the youths, as I knew the team was young. I did not know Usain when I got to William Knibb, I had heard some things about him but did not know him personally.
Q: Were you surprised when you came to William Knibb and inherited talents such as Bolt and (former javelin champion) Sherita Hariott?
Barnett: Yes. I must say that to have two very talented athletes like these in your squad does a lot for you in terms of motivation for other athletes and was a good platform to build on.
Q: In terms of what Bolt did in your first year as his coach, were you at any time at all intimidated and felt that he had to perform at a higher level this year or your job and reputation would be at stake?
Barnett: Usain is a joy to work with but to be honest there was something at the back of my mind that I had to take him to the next level. It was intimidating to be honest but it turned out to be good for me, however, as it helped me to work harder at my job. Bolt helped as well as he never complained and did everything we asked him to do. Also we worked as a team, we did not ignore the others to work with Bolt alone as we also had responsibility for the others as well.
Q: How did you react to criticisms earlier this year that Bolt was not training properly and would not do well this season?
Barnett: It hurts because when you know his programme was on schedule and he was doing what he is supposed to be doing and you hear people saying these things, it can be demoralising. But it makes you stronger and you know that you have to work through all of these things and not listen to what others have to say.
Q: As a young coach, did you get any help or advice from any other coaches or the Jamaica Amateur Athletics Association at any time?
Barnett: Yes, Jerry Holness of Christiana High was very helpful and I found I could talk to him about anything and he gave me some good advice on how to help prepare my athletes. I hope the channels of communication we have will stay open for a long time. I also appreciate the help I got from Raymond 'KC' Graham while I was at St. Jago as he helped me a lot in developing my craft.
Q: What is your outlook as a coach?
Barnett: I am looking forward to working with a national team at any level, as it would help me tremendously. I am also hoping to develop the William Knibb programme into a much larger and nationally recognised one in the very near future.
Q: What can we expect from Bolt for the remainder of the season?
Barnett: In the immediate future I am hoping he can maintain his standard at the CARIFTA Games this weekend but this will depend on the level of competition he will get in Trinidad. After running those times at Champs last week a lot will be expected of him but I am not sure if he will run as fast. In the long term I hope he can develop into a world class athlete at the senior level and maybe even challenge the world record in the 200m soon.
