Barbados’ Carifta team will be in Martinique this weekend pursuing the dream of writing their names on history’s page, according to returning coach Bryan Holder.
In an exclusive interview with the WEEKEND NATION at the team’s final training prior to leaving for the French isle, Holder said his charges were ready to impress.
“Every Barbadian wants to write his or her name on history’s page and that is what we will be looking to do, particularly in the Under-18 4×100 relays for boys and girls, which will be contested for the first time this year at Carifta.
“Last year we did rather well in the Under-17 capturing silver in both the boys and the girls, and we aim to go one better this year.”
While Holder indicated that Barbadians would be expecting standout performances from the United States-based Akela Jones along with Mario Burke and Levi Cadogan, who all mined gold at the last Carifta, he cautioned that anyone following Barbados’ athletics would not be surprised by Coleridge & Parry’s new find, Sada Williams.
“Sada has been outstanding and the hurdlers like Rivaldo Leacock and Michael Nicholls have been showing great form.
In addition, all of the other selectees have earned their places and they will want to justify their presence in Martinique,” added Holder.
Holder disclosed that his strategy, whether he was coaching club, school or national teams, was to strive for performance.
“We are into performance and that is what we need to do in Martinique, perform. The reality is that people are paying to see us perform and that is what we need to do. Our goal in 2014 is what it was in 2013, which is to produce the best performance that we can,” Holder told Nation Sport.
The coach indicated that 2013 proved to be special in that Barbados, for the first time, won more silver medals than bronze. He expressed the intention to convert silver into gold.
Holder said that the post-mortem from Martinique would determine what role the new track at the Stadium would have played in Barbados’ performance.
“Last year we did not have the Stadium and there was no BSAAC. However, that proved to be a positive since rather than the athletes having to take part in four and five events for their respective schools, they had adequate rest and recovery time to represent Barbados.
“Not having to train every Saturday on the harsh Stadium track but rather using the kinder grass tracks would have benefited the athletes greatly,” said Holder.
The coach said that there were no major injury concerns and he indicated that the management team would be sitting down and strategising as soon as they reached Martinique to finalise Barbados’ assault on athletics gold.
