The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Coach Corrington Maycock said the second annual Winter Throw Camp has achieved its purpose, although they would have liked to have entertained a much larger crop of participants.

The camp was held over the weekend at the Queen’s College playing field with coach April Smith from Fresno State University as the chief facilitator.

“When you put on a camp, you want to make sure that the kids benefit technically and also later on, they benefit from furthering their education after high school with scholarships,” said Maycock, who conducted the camp. “I will continuously bring in coaches who can offer 11 and 12 graders scholarships for every camp.”

After last year’s initial camp, Queen’s College graduate LaQuell Harris and St Augustine’s College standout Serena Brown were offered scholarships to attend James Madison University. While Harris accepted the offer and is now in her freshman year, Brown opted not and recently signed a letter of intent for Texas A&M when she graduates from SAC next year.

According to Maycock, at least one Bahamian male competitor will be the recipient of scholarships offered this year.

He noted that during the summer, they intend to bring in four more coaches, who will be offering a total of 20 scholarships that will be made available to the local throwers.

“This is something that I feel good about and if I should quit today, I would hope that the coaches will continue with the camp,” said Maycock, who was assisted by Bradley Cooper and Ronald Cartwright.

Smith, making her debut in the Bahamas, said she was not just delighted to be conducting the clinic, but she was very impressed with what she saw.

“I think it was wonderful. I love the enthusiasm of the kids and the facilities were what I expected from the photos that I’ve seen,” she said. “I think they do amazing things with the facilities that they have and so I truly enjoyed my time here with the camp.”

Growing up on a farm in Nebraska as a former thrower, who also participated in just about every other sport, Smith said that after she failed to achieve her ultimate goal - get on the “Wheaties” box as an “All-American” - due to a few injuries, she turned to coaching and so far she has loved every moment of it.

“Track and field has been a passion for me,” said Smith, a certified Level 5 coach.

“I met coach Maycock at a Level 5 coaching course and he invited me here and I’m just pleased to be here. I don’t think these kids realise how much ability they have. Working with them, you could tell that the coaches here have done some great things with them.

“But I don’t think that they realise it. I think that if athletes know that we as coaches truly believe in them, they will be able to achieve a whole lot more. I know that you have some great athletes here and I am glad that I was able to provide some encouragement to them.”

Cooper, who worked primarily with the shot putters, said it was good to have a foreign coach come in to reinforce some of the things they have been trying to stress to their athletes.

“My only problem is the timing because a lot of my kids are sitting final exams,” Cooper said. “But it’s good to have this return because we saw the improvement of the throwers this year. And I think with the little help they can get this time of the year before the season opens will be good for them.”

And Cartwright, who worked with the javelin throwers, said he was pleased to see the persons who came out because he felt they will definitely benefit from the clinic.

“It’s great, the turnout was good,” Cartwright said. “This is where you find the diamond in the rough, so at the end of the day, we hope that we can get some of these athletes to come out and make the national team, especially CARIFTA where we improved tremendously in the throws this year.”

The campers participated in the basic fundamentals of throwing the discus, shot and javelin.

Two of the campers - Jordan Lewis and Thomea EvanS - were inspired by the lessons they were taught.

“She’s a really good coach from Fresno State and I hope that she can help me to improve my technique so I can get a little more out of my throws,” said Lewis, a 15-year-old 11th grader at Queen’s College. “If all goes well, I hope that I can make the CARIFTA team next year.”

Lewis, who has been involved in the sport for the past three years, admitted that he enjoys the discus more than the shot put because “it’s a natural” event for him.

As for Evans, the 14-year-old 10th grader at Queen’s College made her debut in the camp.

“I was throwing for Sports Day and coach Maycock saw me and he told me that I need to come and get involved in the sport,” said Evans, who has only been in training for the past six months. “I like it because it’s something to keep me balanced in my school work.”

Like Lewis, Evans also prefers to throw the discus.