Maurice Wilson (left) with some of his young Holmwood charges during a training session at the school ground last year. - CARLINGTON WILMOT/FREELANCE PHOTOGRAPHER
MORE TIMES than not, coaches are blamed for their team's or individual's lack of success, but are not given the credit when things go well.
One of the coaches who has done well in Jamaica track and field for the past eight years and very little has been said of him is Maurice Wilson.
Wilson, with limited Class Three and Four athletes, has managed to guide Holmwood Technical girls to three consecutive Girls' Championship titles.
Called 'Podo' by his athletes, he is one of Jamaica's most successful junior coaches. He has guided Anneisha McLaughlin to six World Junior Championships medals (one gold, three silver, and two bronze).
In total, Wilson, who was a member of Jamaica's coaching staff at the Athens Olympic, has four other individual junior medallists.
They include Sonita Sutherland, who won silver in the 400m last year in Italy, and Sheryl Morgan, a silver medallist in the 400m at the Kingston's Championships in 2002.
The coach also boasts 10 Penn Relays Championship of America titles. He won the first, the 4x800m, in 1997.
Wilson, who is a lecturer at G.C. Foster College of Physical Education and Sports, also helped World Championships 200m silver medallist Christopher Williams.
One on One caught up with Wilson and asked him these questions.
Q: What is your most difficult task as a coach?
Maurice Wilson: One of the most difficult tasks is to keep them (athletes) healthy and make sure that their nutrition is intact. And also, sometimes when I am in the country, to find training facilities, which normally is Kirkvine. They are private properties and sometimes they have functions, but they are kind to us.
Q: What is your biggest achievement as a coach so far?
MW: I am one of the coaches who has coached athletes to the most individual medals at that level (world junior). That was one of my major accomplishments and I use it to measure myself as a coach at the world junior level.
Overall, as team coach, I would say winning Girls' Championships three years straight. That would not be possible without the help of many people and the most influential are Pat Anderson and lawyer Lassen Harvey.
Q: How difficult is it to coach youngsters?
MW: Extremely difficult ... A lot of people say youngsters are easy to coach because they think they improve naturally with their growth. But that is not so, especially when you coach girls. One of the things you must face is that they will have biological changes at a certain age, that is something you have to prepare for.
It does not mean that because the athlete is a youngster she will run fast naturally based on training.
The other thing is, because of the amount of distraction you have, it's very difficult to ask a youngster to put in an hour and a half in the afternoon when three quarters of the school population is on the road, going to the plaza and doing things they consider fun. The other thing is that at times you have to take on the parental responsibility, making sure that they reach home safely, they are up to date with their school work, making sure they get lunch to eat, making sure they have bus fare.
Q: Jamaica's track and field programme is on a high, what do you think can be done to continue this success?
MW: The first thing you have to do is to pay attention to the juniors. The juniors have to stay in the forefront because they have been the ones that come to replace the Merlene Ottey, Juliet Cuthbert, the Donald Quarries and so on. You must have a junior programme that is progressive and has a direction. You must also pay attention to the senior athletes that are based locally, because this is a direct representation of what your administration is doing locally and how effective our local coaches are.
Q: As one of the most successful junior coaches, what do you think can be done to further develop the junior athletes?
MW: You have to have a situation in which you have criteria. You have athletes who are extremely talented. These are the athletes you term as 'elite'. So you must put a programme in place to facilitate this type of talent.
Then you have a next set that with hard work will do well, and another set that are average and can go on to scholarships abroad and so on, so you must categorise the athletes. Special people like Usain Bolt, Asafa Powell, Jermaine Gonzales, Germaine Mason, and Sherone Simpson as youngsters have shown what we can achieve if a programme is in place.
Q: How did you feel when you first won Girls' Champs?
MW: It was a plan, because when I went to Holmwood in '96, I had a plan known as vision 2000. But the plan was not effective, because I was focusing on producing quality athletes but was not broadening the programme in terms of field events and hurdles. And it was after getting into those areas that we eventually won in 2002. So it was a very exciting feeling, but was a little bit later than I expected. I was still very, very, happy though.
Q: As a coach, what are some of the sacrifices you have to make?
MW: I hardly spend any time at home. I can count the hours I spend with my family. And the other sacrifice is that there is no time for recreational activities because most of my spare time is still centred around track and field, based on the calendar of events.
As you come out of Champs, you have to think about junior camps, then National Trials in the summer, then you start background training anywhere between September and October.
Q: Is there any time you feel like you want to leave coaching?
MW: Well, of course ... Last year I told myself that I am definitely going to take a break but when you have athletes who you started with, and they are almost at the end of their junior careers, then you are pressed to continue.
Q: What do you hope to achieve as a coach?
MW: Now that I have reached all my dreams for the junior programme, the next goal must be an individual Olympic medal.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years time?
MW: I would like to be there for my daughter's graduation from high school. I hope there won't be any track meet to stop me from going. In terms of personal development, I would like to finish studying at the highest level in my area health science and physical education. That is my ultimate goal
Q: Is there a coach that you admire?
MW: Glen Mills, because of his legendary status, and Stephen Francis, because of his achievements. Then there are numerous other coaches in and around me. Jerry Holness, Michael Dyke, Raymond 'KC' Graham for his persuasiveness and determination and Edward Hector for his motivational traits. Basically I admire all the coaches that are involved in junior programmes.
Anthony Foster
