Related items

• Veteran track & field coaches Maurice Wilson, Kerrylee Ricketts, and Corey Bennett among honourees at National Coaches Day Awards; USA’s Ryan Crouser to receive special award

  The Jamaica Track & Field Coaches Association has announced that esteemed track and field coaches Maurice Wilson, Kerrylee Ricketts, and Corey Bennett are among several coaches who will be honoured on November 15, 2024, as part of the annual National Coaches Day celebrations. The awards recognize long-standing service and contributions to the development of Jamaican athletics, with categories acknowledging coaches' years of dedication and impact on the sport.

  The awards, presented across five categories, celebrate the longevity and influence of track and field coaches in Jamaica. The categories include the Silver Award (20-25 years of service), Gold Award (26-30 years), Platinum Award (30-40 years), Lifetime Achievement Award (over 40 years), and the prestigious Master Coach Award. The recipients of these awards were selected by a committee from nominations submitted by members of the Association.

  Wilson, a veteran coach with decades of experience guiding athletes to the highest levels of international success, will be presented with the Platinum Award. Joining him in this category are notable figures such as Bertland Cameron, John Mair, Locksley Anderson, Richard Derby, Patrick Johnson, and Clarence Greenfield. Wilson has been a pivotal figure in the development of numerous Olympic and World Championship athletes, and his continued excellence in the field is well-regarded across the sporting world.

  Bennett, known for his exceptional work with youth athletes and his contributions to the success of Jamaica’s junior programs, will be awarded the Gold Award. Bennett's influence has extended across multiple levels of the sport, from high school to the international stage, helping to cultivate the next generation of Jamaican track and field talent. Alongside Bennett in the Gold Award category are Lloyd Clarke and Hamlin Pagon.

  

  Ricketts, another influential coach known for developing world-class jumpers, will be honoured with the Silver Award for his contribution to the sport. Ricketts has been instrumental in shaping athletes who have represented Jamaica with distinction in regional and global competitions. Joining him in receiving the Silver Award are Joyclyn Gibson, Marlo Kinghorn, Milton Seargeant, Megan Wilson-Copeland, Marsha Simpson-Montaque, and Gavin James.

  The awards ceremony, which will take place under the theme "The Coach: Developing, Empowering and Enriching Athletes," will also honour four coaches with Lifetime Achievement Awards, including Mike Ollivierre, Victor “Poppie” Thomas, Leacroft Bolt, and Raymond “KC” Graham. These veteran coaches have each contributed more than 40 years of service to Jamaican athletics, playing pivotal roles in nurturing talent and elevating the nation's track and field reputation on the world stage.

  Additionally, American coach Ryan Crouser will receive the Hector-Smith Master Coach Award for his guidance of Jamaican athlete Roje Stona to a historic gold medal in the men’s discus at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This award is named in honor of the late Jamaican coaching legends Edward Hector and Eldemire Smith.

   The Jamaica Track & Field Coaches Association, recognized internationally and endorsed by both the JAAA and World Athletics, has held this annual event since 2022 to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of coaches across all levels of track and field. National Coaches Day, declared by the Governor General of Jamaica, Sir Patrick Linton Allen, on September 27, 2022, serves as a day of recognition for coaches' involvement in athlete development and their significant role in shaping Jamaica’s national psyche.

   

   

   

   

   

• 2019 World champion Tajay Gayle leaves MVP track club

  2019 World Championship long jump gold medallist Tajay Gayle has left the MVP track and field club.

  No reason has been given as to why the 2019 RJRGleaner National Sportsman of the year left the club based at the University of Technology in Kingston.

  However, the 28-year-old national record holder looks set to start working with St. Elizabeth-based jumps coach Kerry-Lee Ricketts, husband of Shanieka Ricketts.

  Ricketts has guided the career of his wife to silver medals at the 2019 and 2022 World Championships as well as silver at this summer's Paris Olympics.

  Gayle struggled with knee injuries in the 2021 and 2022 seasons before returning to take bronze at last year’s World Championships in Budapest behind teammate Wayne Pinnock and Greece’s Miltiadis Tentoglu.

   

   

• Olympic bronze medallist Campbell wants more appreciation for athletes in Jamaica

  When an athlete makes history for their country in the world’s biggest sporting spectacle, the Olympic Games, the typical reaction from that country is some sort of acknowledgement or celebration of that historic performance.

  Unfortunately, this has yet to be the case for Jamaican shot putter Rajindra Campbell.

  Campbell became the first Jamaican man to ever medal in a throwing event at an Olympic Games when he threw 22.15m to win bronze in Paris on August 3.

  Four days after Campbell’s performance, Roje Stona also made history, throwing a personal best 70.00m for gold in the discus, becoming Jamaica’s first ever Olympic champion in a throwing event.

  In the latest episode of SportsMax TV’s Out D Blocks hosted by Leighton Levy and D Major, the 28-year-old national record holder spoke candidly about the lack of acknowledgment and appreciation back home for these historic achievements.

  “We have talked about it. The only problem is, as what Omar McLeod mentioned at trials about the 2016 Olympics, we don’t feel the appreciation from Jamaica,” Campbell said, referencing Omar McLeod’s comments after the Olympic trials where he spoke about not feeling appreciated by Jamaica after his Olympic gold medal performance eight years ago.

  “You see the kind of celebration Julien Alfred got? I’m not expecting the same here but Jamaica has such a rich history in track and field, I don’t think the athletes are really appreciated for what they do,” he added.

  Campbell, born in Ocho Rios, moved to Joplin, Missouri in 2018 to attend Missouri Southern State University where he attended for three years.

  He noted that he’s received more of a celebration for his achievement in Joplin than back home in Jamaica.

  “I met with the school President on Wednesday of last week and he explained certain things they have in store for me and there is a big sign on campus that people come in and see. It’s a different celebration taking place here compared to Jamaica,” he said.

  As Campbell noted, whenever a Jamaican is in an event, Jamaicans expect them to do well. He wonders whether more appreciation would be given to the athletes when they do well if people understood the sacrifices they make on a daily basis.

  “The love for Jamaica will never die. We will always continue to represent but, at the same time, the amount of sacrifice it takes to get to the level we are, something that I’ve found is once there is a Jamaican in an event, you’re expected to do well. How do we get there?”

  “When you actually get there it’s like ‘Oh! I expected it or I knew you could do it.’ At the same time, there’s a journey that nobody really understands,” he continued.

  He added that there has been no communication to him or Stona regarding any sort of celebration or acknowledgement in Jamaica.

  Out D Blocks can be seen live every Thursday on the SportsMax TV YouTube channel.