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New Track & Field Club has clear vision for the future!

The Virgin Islands newest athletics Club, ESP, has no bounds to its Holistic vision for the sports future.
Coaches Carl Barrett and Stanley Goodridge share a lighter moment with Tresurer Lester Fahie during the serious business of ensuring the VI Athletes have every opertunity to excell on the Track and Field arena.
Coaches Carl Barrett and Stanley Goodridge share a lighter moment with Tresurer Lester Fahie during the serious business of ensuring the VI Athletes have every opertunity to excell on the Track and Field arena.
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI- Endurance, Speed and Power (ESP) is no longer a dream as the Virgin Islands newest Track and Field Club sets out its plans for a holistic system to enhance athletes through those training methods.

It was back in August 2011 that Carl Barrett, Stanley Goodridge and Lester “Moko” Fahie first met and came up with the idea for their club, ESP and now with ten members they are looking forward to a busy first season.

The trio, already actively involved in the sport, realized that there are many athletes who don’t have coaches or are not members of a club and are slipping through the cracks. Their focus will be younger children.

Support for the club has already come from Dag Samuels and Willis “Chuckee” Todman who although involved in their own clubs share the belief of ESP that there is a need for more coaches and clubs to help train the many talented athletes in the territory.

“Having seen the trends throughout the world where if children are not actively engaged in the positives they tend to get caught in things they shouldn’t be doing,” said Club Treasurer Fahie, adding, “The Club will be well funded with a holistic system to coaching. We have two pretty good IAAF Level 2 coaches and one of the areas of great potential is that we are basing the club not just on track and field performance but also academics. Athletes need to combine the two and if the athlete doesn’t have academics it will hinder them when it comes to moving onwards to College.

Both Barrett and Goodridge are Jamaicans and as “Moko” pointed out that whilst they don’t have all the support team in place, “if something is going to rub off from the coaches’ backgrounds it would be best the BVI benefits”.

“It’s important the athletes are exposed to different coaching philosophies so they can maximize their talent,” stated Goodridge. “Jamaica is the sprint capital of the world and we will be trying our best to better the athletes of the BVI.”

ESP will be ensuring all prospective athletes are given a fair chance to succeed. “No one coach knows everything so there is nothing wrong with joining resources,” commented Barrett. “We will pull on others to help as the need arises. The important thing is to make sure the BVI Athletes benefit.”

When the right talent shows up the Club will be expanding the events they cover, but said they won’t be “poaching” any athletes. “If they approach us we will follow proper procedure,” said Barrett. “We will find out why they want to change, contact the coach ask the right questions and do things the right way.”

As far as continuing the success the VI’s younger talent has at Regional Meets and bridging the gap that seems to grow between the traditional “Power Houses” such as Jamaica, Trinidad and the Bahamas as they get older, Barrett pointed out that “one thing you can’t over estimate is talent.”

He accepted that one can bring a person to a certain level but talent supersedes everything. “Some persons may start earlier than others but don’t always push on to the next level. We will be establishing a system for our athletes who do so well at the younger age groups so they will be encouraged through hard work, discipline and dedication to make sure that gap is closed.”

The overall message the Club has for a parent looking to place their children is to measure twice and cut once, do your research, do your due diligence, check out the coaches and choose wisely.

“There is a serious factor for the kids in that if they fall into the hands of an over exuberant coach there can be problems,” concluded Goodridge.

The club also has access to the gym by the BVIFA Headquarters and uses it twice a week to ensure the athletes are well prepared.

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