After serving as Cayman’s national track-and-field coach for nearly three decades, Kenrick Williams may soon be calling it a career.
“I have reached retirement age,” Williams told the Cayman Compass. Currently, Williams, 68, remains dedicated to his national role despite his position now being advertised. He says athletes like Olympian Kemar Hyman keep him motivated.
“Hyman, who came back last year February or early March… requested that I work with him [for] the Olympics,” said Williams, adding that not all coaches would be able to train an elite athlete. “This is [Hyman’s] work; this is his profession, this is what pays his bills, so we have to be cognisant of that.”
Since becoming head coach in 1996, Williams has trained some of Cayman’s most successful track-and-fielders – athletes like Hyman, Cydonie Mothersill, Ronald Forbes and, briefly, Kareem Streete-Thompson.
He is also responsible for establishing the careers of Lacee Barnes, Rasheem Brown, Louis Gordon and many more through his track club HyTech Tigers. He says the new national coach, whoever that may be, will have some big shoes to fill.
“I can coach every event because I’ve been to school in Germany where you were taught to teach at an elite level. You just have to have an open mind and a willingness to learn,” Williams said, noting, “track and field is not an art, it is science, it is highly technical”.
He added, “A coach nowadays must know his biomechanics, he must know his sports medicine, he must know at least the basic field events.”
Williams’ position remains open for applications. However, he will be looking to join Hyman at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, in what could very well be the last major event he attends as a coach.
Related Videos
