Young heroes

HAVING CAUGHT media attention for their exploits on the track, Muschett High School’s pair of Shanoya Douglas and Johan-Ramaldo Smythe have signalled their intent to prove athletes from smaller schools can achieve success in track and field as well.

Smythe and Douglas were both gold medallists at last year’s ISSA GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Championships as they dominated the Class Two sprint finals.

Smythe took home gold in the boys’ 200 metres with a time of 21.35 seconds while Douglas was a double sprint champion, claiming the 200m and 400 titles with times of 23.93 and 53.03 respectively.

They also made history as they became Muschett’s first-ever Champs medallists.

Entering this season donning burgundy and white, both have stated they are ready to bring more acclaim to their Trelawny-based school.

Douglas said she hopes to inspire the next generation of athletes at Muschett to prove they too can achieve as much as their peers at traditional high schools.

“I feel nice to be looked up to by the younger ones because people always say that you need to be in a big school and around big coaches to perform well, so I want to prove that you don’t need that,” she explained.

“What you need is a very passionate coach who knows what they are doing and you’ll come through. My teammates and I are proof of that. I believe anything is possible so you don’t need to be in a big programme to be executing and performing at a high level.”

Her coach, Garth Smythe, said Douglas’ junior career is living proof of the value of hard work.

He explained she was often overlooked during her early days in track and field. Yet, with the support of her teammates, she has grown to become one of the leading figures in Jamaica’s junior athletics.

“It’s more down to the relationship between myself and my athletes,” the veteran coach stated.

“The truth is that none of these athletes would have been recruited coming out of primary school. Not one of them that you see here, not even Douglas.

“A lot of persons didn’t know that in her first year at Champs, she didn’t even come out of her heats. A lot of persons didn’t know that. It is a testimony to the relationship that the group has together,” he recalled.

Johan-Ramaldo Smythe, who is stepping into Class One, said his aim is also to show younger athletes that even if they are not recruited by traditional schools, they still have a path to success.

“I’m hoping to be an inspiration for the younger kids here and the ones who might be looking to come to Muschett. I want to show them even if the big schools didn’t recruit them, they can still succeed at any school they go.”

Garth Smythe explained Douglas’ and Smythe’s achievements have also inspired a wave of confidence throughout their squad as his younger athletes have begun to view them as inspirations.

Seeing their older teammates achieve Champs success has convinced the next generation of Muschett athletes to do the same.

“These younger kids look up to Douglas and Smythe. They are their heroes. They emulate them and they want to follow them. It is a very small group, but I can tell you, they are feeding off their energy.”