Hydel looking beyond Champs
Bennett: We achieved the championship by working hard and we’re working hard this year but it is not our main focus
HEAD COACH of Hydel High, Corey Bennett, says his team is not focusing on defending their ISSA-GraceKennedy Boys and Girls’ Athletics Championships (Champs) girls’ title. Instead, Bennett said that the focus will be on the development of each athlete.
Hydel High won the girls’ title at Champs last year when they dethroned then champions Edwin Allen High in a close title race, winning the crown by two points.
Their win was the first title in the school’s history and also prevented Edwin Allen from claiming their ninth title in a row.
However, when asked about his team’s preparation to defend their title this year, Bennett explained Hydel’s main focus will not be on winning Champs.
“Things just aligned for us last year,” he said. “We achieved the championship by working hard and we’re working hard this year but it is not our main focus. We don’t think about challenging for the title even though we won last year. It is not something that we’ll be focusing on.”
So far, Hydel has had a fairly good start in their lead-up to Champs with the team placing third at Central Champs behind Edwin Allen and St Jago High respectively.
For Bennett, his aim as a coach is to develop his athletes to the best of their abilities. This, he explained, is the coaching philosophy he has instilled at Hydel.
“We’ve always focused on individual performances, and that where our focus is on once again. It is never about winning the title, it is on getting the best from the individual athletes. It is really difficult to say but I think we have some persons who are doing well.
“So yeah, it’s just a matter of keeping them healthy and hopefully they can do well and have their best performances at Champs. We had a good season last year and we’re just trying to have a good season this year. ”
Bennett explained he is not targeting Champs as the main track meet for the season, but rather he is looking at the World Athletics Under-20 Championships in August as the main goal.
With the talent in his squad, Bennett is confident that several of his athletes can perform at the international stage.
“This is a world under-20 year and I think we have some athletes who can do well at the World Under-20 Championships this year. That is where we are looking at for quite a few of our athletes that we think can do well at the world junior level.”