Oberlin high on school spirit

Oberlin High School's track and field head coach, Garry Williams, will use the athletes' all-time high school pride to push them to success.

According to Williams, in his first year at the helm, he inherited his squad full of self-belief despite facing a lack of resources.

Williams was an active figure at the Queen's/Grace Jackson Invitational track meet on Saturday at the National Stadium, and he could be seen on the sidelines whispering instructions to his athletes as they took to the track.

He was buoyed by the loud cheering of his squad whenever one of their teammates crossed the finish line, and Williams said that while their numbers may be small, Oberlin's presence cannot be ignored.

"Oberlin always shows out. If there's one thing with Oberlin, we always have school spirit. When it comes to the school, the athletes support their school. They cheer for their school, and when you come to Eastern Champs, you'll see that even when an athlete is running last, Oberlin never loses that Oberlin spirit," Williams said.

He said his aim for this year is to guide Oberlin to a top-three finish at Eastern Champs, and admitted it will be a difficult task ahead. However, he is confident it is possible after their strong showing at last year's edition.

Oberlin finished fourth in the overall standing at Eastern Champs last year, and Williams believes they can climb up this year despite losing several of his senior athletes.

"It has been very challenging because we are rebuilding. Oberlin always shows up at the Eastern Champs, and the objective is to aim for the top three this year.

"It's not going to be easy. We're putting a five-year plan in motion, which this is the first year. This year is to get them qualified, get them in the groove of really understanding what track and field is like and then we take it from there," he said.

Williams is hopeful that, with their ambitions for Eastern Champs, a strong showing from Oberlin will convince stakeholders that they are worth investing in.

"The main thing is that our resources are next to zero. Right now, we don't even have a gym. We don't have one of the best fields and resources are really a challenge. What I'm going to do is after this championship, we're going to sit down with the principal and the stakeholders and sell my vision to them so they can understand what it takes to go forward," he stated.

Williams said that while his squad may not be as powerful as the more fancied teams in contention, he believes talents are lying in wait to be discovered.