The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Chief Sports Editor

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

FOLLOWING the completion of their elections on Saturday morning at the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, Daron Lightbourne was elected as the new president of the Bahamas Athletic Associations of Coaches.

Lightbourne, a former athlete who now heads Bahamas Speed Dynamics, will replace outgoing president Corrington Maycock. Lightbourne won over Bernard Newbold to run the organisation for the next two years.

“I definitely feel really good. I’m excited that I got this opportunity to be the next president,” he said. “I intend to work hard for the coaches and to include an inclusive organisation so that all of the coaches could feel welcome. That is my number one goal, to be able to assist all of the coaches throughout the Bahamas. So I feel very elated and excited about the moment right now.”

The other board members are James Rolle, first vice president, Khyle Higgs, second vice president, Mikhilo Strachan, treasurer, Sherry Francis, secretary and Neketa Sears, assistant secretary.

The four board members are Samson Colebrooke, Dionne Britton from Grand Bahama, Andrew Tynes and Jamison Pratt.

“Our plan is to continue with the initiative that the past president Maycock started by putting on certification courses for the coaches and also to work on unity with the coaches,” said Francis, a former distance runner and coach of both Kids Athletics and Team Velocity Track Clubs. 

“The new board members are all active coaches and have a lot of knowledge to offer to help make the association great.”

Lightbourne said the board is a mixture of old and young, so they are heading into the right direction with their plans to make the association a vibrant one in the country.

“We know the people a more inclusive board in the sense that you can get some old school information and some new school information,” he said. “So we should be able to get the association on to the next level.

“They are looking for change, so most definitely with the ones who were elected and the board, we will gel very well and fight for the coaches and the things that they need out of us.”

As he celebrated his victory, Lightbourne took the time out to congratulate Tam Bahamas at the 2025 World Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China over the weekend.

“We congratulate our esteemed athletes Wendell (Miller), Devynne (Charlton), Anthaya (Charlton), Denisha (Cartwright) and Camille (Rutherford) for your unwavering commitment, rigorous training, and unyielding team spirit in representing The Bahamas on the international stage,” Lightbourne said. 

“Every situation presents an opportunity for victory, and we encourage each of you to continue striving towards your goals. We eagerly await your outdoor performances.”

Lightbourne had nothing but high praise for Charlton in repeating as the women’s 60m hurdles champion.

“Devynne, your achievement in defending your World Indoor title marks a historic moment for both yourself and The Bahamas,” he stressed. “We encourage you to continue serving as a beacon of hope and inspiration to all athletes as double World Indoor champion.”

And not to be left out, Lightbourne commended the coaching staff that included Foster Dorsett, Bernard Rolle and Dr Kent Bazard, the team’s doctor.

“We appreciate your unwavering support to the athletes during the championship,” said Lightbourne, who also commended BAAA’s president Drumeco Archer, the leader of the delegation in China.

With the CARIFTA Games in Trinidad & Tob ago as the major priority over the Easter holiday weekend, Lightbourne said their association want to ensure that the coaches selected can start working together with a cohesive unit.

“By the time they get into CARIOFTA, we know that everyone will be on the same page and they can get their athletes acquainted and we can be able to reach out to the members.

“We want to revamp our constitution to make sure that it is in line with the new world. The constitution was made up in 1980, so we want to make sure that the way forward, we will bring it to the point where everybody can be a part of what we are doing.”

He noted that they don’t just want to take the $50 or $40 for new and old coaches respectively, but rather, everybody will be quite aware about all of the procedures in the association.

As for the opposition from Newbold, Lightbourne said he wasn’t concerned because he presented himself to the voting delegates and they accepted him.

“I let them know exactly who I was and what I stood for in my platform that I put out there. In my campaign, I showed them how celebrative I was,” he summed up.

“But now that the elections are over, I definitely want to work with Bernard Newbold in the future because he has some great ideas and if we can collaborate, we can have a great organization moving forward.”

Using the theme “L.I.G.H.T” in all coaches, Lightbourne campaigned under the following five pillars that spelt the word light.

Legislation - introduce legislation to govern the coaching body and to ensure that each coach understands their roles and responsibilities.

Innovation - implement innovation by having an Ethics Hotline via email (so that coaches voices can be heard) and build a Coaches Database to identify all coaches.

Guidance - provide guidance to get coaches to advance to another level with education such as assisting with certifications, one on one practical sessions, theory sessions and how to go bout writing an athletic program, etc.

Highlight - feature coaches and their clubs on a monthly basis, feature new accomplishments of coaches, celebrations of accomplishments and incentives.

Teamwork. foster relationships with veteran coaches, NSA, BAAA, Government (Ministry of Youth, Sprots and Culture) and corporate sponsors.

In the past, Lightbourne has developed his coaching resume to include the following accomplishments:

Represented the Bahamas national junior teams as head coach for the World Athletics U20 championships in 2024 and Pan American U20 Championships in 023. He was also an assistant coach for the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2021 and 2022.

He served as an executive members (treasurer) of the Bahamas Athletic Associations of Coaches board from 2022-present.

Coaching athletic achievements include gold medals from Antoine Andrew (110m hurdles) at the World Athletics U20 Championships in 2022; Otto Laing (110m hurdles) at CARIFTA 2023 and Zion Miller (400m,) at NACAC U18 2023.

Silver medal performers include Lavardo Deveaux (octathlon) at CARIFTA in 2023 and Jahcario Wilson (110m hurdles) at CARIFTA 2024 and bronze from Adam Musgrove (100m and 200m) at CARIFTA 2023 and Eagan Neely (400m) at CARIFTA 2024.

National junior record-breaking performances from Andrews in the 110m hurdles and Musgrove in the 100m.

Lightbourne is also a USATF Level 1 Track and Field Coach; Level 2 - sprints and hurdles coach.