After wrapping up her maiden three-day visit yesterday by taking some student athletes through pre-race warm up drills, U. S star hurdler, Kristi Castlin assured that she will return since “I want to be more involved here.”
Following the activity at the Camp Ayanganna ground, the Diamond League winner told Stabroek Sport that “I will definitely be back, I want to be more involved here and dedicate more time to organize a really good meet with a good turn out because these kids deserve it.”
The former NCAA All-American added “I have seen a lot of talented kids while I’m here and they are dedicated, they’re here and ready to work, they’re the best so they deserve the best.
Castlin, 26, was somewhat critical of the turnout of the 30-odd students and was adamant that more support is needed in order for them to excel.
“I really thought it could have been more people” said Castlin. “I don’t know if it was the timing or what happened but I think a lot of their friends and family need to come out and support them because they need that, its gonna make them feel good and make them run faster and harder.
Hopefully my presence here is gonna make them compete to the best of their ability but I think with more fans and people coming out to support, it will definitely help these young elite athletes to perform at a very high level.”
So what were some of the drills Castlin put the athletes through?
“Today I just wanted to get the kids really prepared for when they have their National competition next week to provide them with a pretty solid, very good warm up, something that they’ve got to do every single time they go to races. It’s very important to get their nervous system going, get their bodies really ready to run as fast as they possibly can”.
She expounded “I put them through A skip, B skip, side to side, a quadro and a quick leg drill, things to really get that nervous system firing. We made sure we got some good dynamic flexibility in, get those muscles stretched out and loose and ready to go.
Castlin noted that a typical warm up for a sprinter takes about 45 minutes to an hour “so today we took about 45 minutes to warm up.”
At yesterday’s activity which was witnessed by several coaches, Castlin also gave the athletes a motivational speech and took them through a sprint workout.
During her stay, Castlin paid a courtesy call to the Minister of Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, met with students at the Synthetic Track at Leonora and conducted a coaching clinic at the National Resource Centre.
The track star also appeared on a television programme, visited schools in the North Georgetown District and shared information on proper technique, physical fitness, diet and training regimens with athletic specialists also at the Resource Centre.
Castlin’s sojourn is funded by an American Embassy travel grant.
