STATHS building for the future

Head coach of St Andrew Technical High School’s (STATHS) track and field team, Mario Forsythe, says he will be carrying an inexperienced team to the ISSA GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) next week.

STATHS will be largely dependent on their Class Three and Class Four athletes at Champs.

According to Forsythe, several of their senior athletes from last year have left the school while the team has been faced with a lot of injuries in Class Two, severely depleting their numbers.

“Last year, we had an average team, but this year, we have a young team. It’s mainly our Class Three and Class Four. We don’t really have a Class Two or a Class One boys’ team, so we’re focusing on the younger ones.

“All of the top athletes in Class One left the school last year, and in Class Two this year, we have had a lot of injuries, and that’s the main reason why we do not have a Class Two team that’s performing well right now,” Forsythe said.

With their lack of numbers, Forsythe admits that it will be a difficult task for his team to earn points at Champs.

However, he said with the potential he has seen from his younger athletes, he feels that this team is one for the future.

“To be honest, for this year, it’s going to be really hard for us to get points. I will look out for next year, especially with the Class Three. It’s a young team, and I see them doing better because they’ve been running much better this year,” the STATHS coach said.

It has been a work in progress for Forsythe as he seeks to rebuild STATHS’ track and field programme.

He said he has seen performances from his athletes this season that leave him confident in the team’s ability to rebuild for the future.

“I know next year will be much better than this year. To be honest, I’m looking forward for Champs as this year is just to get them in the mindset. And they’re getting it. One of my girls [Janice Francis] just ran 26 seconds for the 200m, and for the whole season, she’s been running 28 seconds in some negative wind. They’re looking good so far, especially the girls. So the most important thing is to go to Champs, get a personal best, and then we take it from there,” Forsythe said.