The future development of some of, or all sixty, Anguillian student athletes, dubbed the “best of the best”, may well be defined by their involvement in various types of competitive track and field events at the Miami Classics next week.
The children, selected from the Primary Schools and the Albena Lake-Hodge Comprehensive School, have been given the opportunity of a lifetime, so to speak, to participate, for the first time, in the Miami Classics, now 44 years old.
Thanks to Genna Webster-Williams, an Anguillian national, who came up with the idea – and her husband, Terry Williams, a coach with the Miami Northwest Express Track and Field Classics, who made the arrangements and trained the children at the Ronald Webster Park. Thanks also to the Anguilla Social Security Board which provided a sponsorship of ten thousand US dollars, and others who also contributed towards raising some 60 thousand dollars towards the overall cost.
The Social Security Board called a press conference on Tuesday, June 4, to present its sponsorship cheque. The Board’s Public Relations Officer, Rosanna Browne, said sports were one of its focal points and areas in terms of national development.
Director of Sports, Mr. Andre Collins, said the opportunity for the children to go to the Miami Classics resulted from an occasion, a few months ago, when Terry Williams, on a visit to Anguilla, spotted some sporting talent which he thought his network could assist to develop. He was grateful to the Social Security Board for playing a significant role in sports development in Anguilla over the years.
President of the Anguilla Amateur Athletic Association, Ms. Lorna Kentish-Rogers, said she was pleased with the involvement of the Anguillian children in the Miami Classics as the aim was to make track and field the number one sport in Anguilla.
“We now have a strategic plan that we are looking at, and we cannot diminish what has happened as a result of Genna and Terry coming on board” following the Primary Schools’ sports, she stated. “This is something huge when you consider the size of the team that we are sending to Miami,” she went on. “It has given a spark to track and field. This is not only on the part of the children who are very enthused with the opportunity travel and compete against other athletes. The parents are also on board with this which has been lacking in track and field for a very long time. We find that without the parents we are very restricted in what we want to achieve in the programmes we try to introduce.”
Acting Director of Social Security, Dr. Maglan Lewis, commended the Williams couple for their initiative to help the Anguillian children. She was pleased that the Social Security Board had provided some sponsorship for them, and hoped they would wear the Board’s logo on their uniforms.
Mrs. Genna Webster-Williams thanked the Anguilla Social Security Board for its generous sponsorship of the athletes; the Department of Sports; and the Anguilla Amateur Athletics Association for guiding and trusting her and her husband with their vision to help the children to gain experience on an international level.
She continued: “The Miami Classic is in its 44th year and this is the first time that Anguilla, will be present. Coming home to Anguilla this past January, I mentioned to my husband, Terry, that Anguilla has a lot of natural talent. However, we need a bit more development, exposure and experience for the athletes. One day we went to the Primary Schools’ sports, and the High School’s sports, and we saw some really great talent. I asked him how do we start a team and take them to the Miami Classics?’ The Anguilla all Stars Team, which was formed, will be travelling to Miami from June 13 until the 19th to participate in the Miami Classic Meet.”
Mrs. Webster-Williams stated that the team had been training very intensely, were doing a phenomenonal job and had improved greatly. “We really think that they can do something very special in Miami so we are looking forward to it,” she observed.
Her husband, Terry, was grateful to all who contributed to an idea that was becoming a reality. “Three things I tried to teach the children which are time management, respect and discipline,” he explained. “When my wife brought this idea to me, I told her to take me to every school so that I could see what I was getting myself into…I am a full body development coach and I wanted the children to get a lot more out of this training than track.
“I really believe in them. They have some amazing talent and, with the help of all the other coaches, I was able to add a little element to what they already provided to the children. I really want to give thanks to the coaches because they are the real heroes in getting Anguilla at the top of the charts.”
Mrs. Webster-Williams said the sixty Anguillian student athletes, comprising 30 males and 30 females players, represented “the best of the best” making up the Anguilla All Star Team. “The level of competition at this meet will be unlike anything they have ever seen,” she told the press conference. “We are expecting 85 teams to participate in this track meet. We have teams from Jamaica, British Virgin Islands, The Bahamas and Guyana, 26 states in the US, Canada and some representations from Kenya as well.
“The children from Anguilla will be going up against some stiff competition with those others who train year round. They know that this is what they want to do for a living. If our children in Anguilla want to pursue such, we would like for them to get that exposure and experience from now. The Anguillian children will be accompanied by ten coaches and thirty parents.”
