24 Oct 2022

Eighteen athletics coaches have been drilled to help Botswana Athletics Association (BAA) realise its dream of excelling in field events.

The association selected those who had Coaches Education and Certification System (CESC) course level I to be upgraded to level II.

BAA vice president, Oabona Theetso, said the course that was conducted by Joel Severe from Mauritius was a success, adding results were yet to be published following evaluation by the World Athletics board responsible for coaching courses.

Theetso said after the evaluation, BAA would then be in a good position to know how many had passed and qualified for Level III.

“For now we have given all the 18 coaches participation certificates as we wait for the main one from the World Athletics governing body,” he said.

Furthermore, Theetso said they expected the coaches to have done well as it was important for them to proceed to the next level.

Their pass would be beneficial to the country given its dismal performance in field events particularly throws. 

He said coaches were more trained for track events only and including the throws was one way of diversifying their coaching department.

“Overtime most of our coaches had been helping the athletes in throws without the needed expertise, so the course would help them to enhance their skill and bring good results,” he said.

The vice president said the course was going to help coaches to be well rounded and in a position to drill different athletes depending on their events.

“All along we had only Level I coaches, just for beginners, a possible reason why we have not been doing well in throws.  It’s a fact we did not have highly trained coaches and the more we train them, the more we empower them,” he said. 

He said training coaches for throwing events that included shot put, discus, hammer, and javelin was also a way of cultivating and restoring the excitement and passion for throws.

Theetso said Kenya known for middle and distance races had also managed to produce throwers of note in the likes of Julius Yego, a javelin thrower, while Grenada known for sprints had a World Champion javelin thrower in Anderson Peters. ENDS