The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FOLLOWING in the footsteps of Bahamian World and Olympic champion Steven Gardiner, high school quarter-mile phenom Wendell Miller has decided to enter the professional ranks of track and field.

The 18-year-old St John’s College graduate said he’s excited about taking that next step in his career, having signed with Puma as a developmental athlete where he will train under Bahamian Henry Rolle in his professional training camp in Florida.

“I feel great about this accomplishment,” said Miller, who will receive a lump sum and an incentive package based on his performances. “To see where I have come from and now to get to the professional ranks is a very good achievement for me.

“I know the other athletes in our club look up to me as a role model because of the way I carry myself and how I act towards them. I just want to keep inspiring them to keep God first because anything is possible.”

Miller said his goal under coach Rolle is to run at least 44 seconds in the 400m when he officially starts his season next year.

“I just have to remain humble, put God first in everything that I do and just train hard and try to avoid injuries and not allow people to distract me,” said Miller, who leaves town on October 5 for his new venture. “It’s going to be sad because I know I’m going to miss my family and friends and the people who have been supporting me. I know I won’t see them for a while, but I just want them to continue to pray for me.”

His Swift Athletics’ coach Andrew Tynes said it was a deal that Miller could not pass up, as it makes provision for him to also do online schooling.

“It was his decision. I went over everything with him in the contract and I also considered the person who he was going to and the company he was going to,” Tynes said. “It was his decision, so I left it up to him and his parents to decide.”

The goal for Miller, according to Tynes, is to run at least 44 seconds in the men’s 400 metres next year, but it will all depend on him because he had the framework of being a part of Swift Athletics and making the World Athletics’ Under-20 Championship team this year.

“A lot of athletes in our club have been inspired by Wendell. They have seen his results and the times he has run, along with Carolos Brown and a lot of them are looking to either reach their level or surpass it.

The club, which uses the slogan “Cheetahs on the Edge,” has grown to about 70 members since its inception in 2013. Tynes said the success of prior athletes like Samson Colebrook, Keron Bain and Corey Johnson, who are all off to college, have inspired the athletes to succeed.

“We have sent off over 25 athletes to college and we have had athletes who have made a number of junior national teams,” said Tynes, a former Carifta to Olympic sprinter for the Bahamas. “So we’ve done it all; in a short space of time.”

Although the club is known for sprinters, middle distance runner Paulindo Boyer said he hope to break some new grounds for Swift Athletics. The 17-year-old St John’s College 12th grader has done a lifetime best of two minutes and one second in the 800m and 4:20 in the 1,500m.

“I decided to join the club because the main priority was to bring some spice to track and field,” said Boyer, now in his fifth year as a member of Swift Athletics. “We’re now the top track club in the Bahamas.

“Our coach is a good coach, so he know how to middle distance, long distance runners and sprinters. It doesn’t matter what event you do. Once coach see that you are consistent and dedicated, you will perform well.”

Boyer said the main objective for him and the club is to make as many national teams as possible and hopefully get an athletic scholarship to college or follow in Miller’s footsteps as a professional athlete.

Female sprinter Shayann Demeritte, an 11th grader at St John’s College, has been a part of the club for the past three years. She noted that based on Tynes’ experience as a former sprinter, she felt she was in the right fit.

“This year, I want to run under 12 seconds in the 100 and under 25 in the 200m,” said Demeritte, who has produced times of 12.40 in the 100m and 25.30 in the 200m.

“The club is very supportive and we work very hard. Our coach, Andrew Tynes, is like a father-figure to all of us. We are like a family. We support each other and push each other.”

As for Miller, Demeritte said she’s so proud of his accomplishments and she reminded him to stay focused and remember where he came from because he have others like herself looking up to him.

“Remember to put God first and to stay focused,” she quippe3d.

Instead of getting involved in some of the more established clubs, Tynes said he turned down those offers because he wanted to cater to more of the grassroot athletes, who didn’t have the means financially to make the more prestigious clubs at the time.

“Some of these athletes were just lingering around the track and so I decided to form the club,” he said. “They saw the progress of the government schools and they were not going anywhere compared to the private schools.

“So I just decided to coach the kids. If they were good enough, they went to some of the private schools. But the majority of these kids go to the government schools and they have shown a lot of progress in our club.”

Along with Tynes, the club has a coaching staff that includes former sprinter Fabian Whymns, former long/triple jumper Chris Wright, parent Shefala Bain, former quarter-miler/hurdler Demaris Cash and former 800m runner Jason Woodside.

Bain, who has been involved in the club for the past two years, said she’s been impressed with what she’s seen so far under the leadership of coach Tynes.

“The club is drastically improving,” she stated. “I’m looking for our athletes coming out next year breaking some records, winning some trophies and making a number of national teams.”

Like some of the coaches who are all former athletes, Wright said his decision to get involved in the club two years ago was to give back to track and field.

“What we stand for and the principles instilled in these athletes is something that I’ve been impressed with,” Wright said. “We want to give them good qualified training so that they can get a good quality education.

“We look out for the betterment of the athletes and how they train, their purpose for training, how they condition themselves and how they go out there and compete. We also want to give them some good sound advice about what they need to do in life.”

In order to foster a good relationship, Wright said they try to listen to the athletes to hear their concerns and they work together collectively to better their circumstances, especially in their academics. .

With the support of a number of sponsors, including Consolidated Water, Sun Oil, Chanlendar Sands, Holy Spirit Church, Asa H. Pritchard and Porky’s Gas Station, Tynes said they have been able to participate in a number of local and international events.