National track & field coach Raymond ‘KC’ Graham, a high school stand-out coach has blasted comments made by US Junior College coach Michael Smart about getting second-tier athletes from Jamaica.
“Coach Smart has no regard or respect for Jamaican coaches when he said in an article that he got second-tier, and athletes who are not good in his programme (Essex Country College),” said a very hurt Graham, in responding to coach Smart’s claim.
Despite getting the likes of Olympic champion Melaine Walker, Olympic and World silver medallist Kerron Stewart and Kenia Sinclair, Smart claimed that he never got the best from the Caribbean island.
He told Caribbean Tracklife Online Magazine: “Jamaica does not send me their best athletes; I don’t get the superstar athletes except for, maybe, Andrea Bliss in 1999 and Kerron Stewart in 2003. I always get the second-tier athletes.
“But I take what I can get. Most colleges want a specific athlete and will not take others. I will take a group of three or four athletes just to give everyone an opportunity.” Read TrackAlert.com Full Report
