On the fast track of success

KOCHI:  They have strength, stamina and style. And they have a gold or silver to their names in almost every event. The athletes of Mar Basil HSS, Kothamangalam, credit their victories to the vigorous training they receive   under their coaches Shibi Mathew and Jimmy Joseph.Jijin Vijayan, Neenu Thomas, Jithu Baby, Vaishnav Shajan and Sandra Sebastian, all gold medallists on the synthetic track at the Maharaja’s College Stadium, are the potential new-generation hopes of the teachers of  Mar Basil.“Our students undergo training from the standard V. Some are natural  athletes while others need to be given vigorous training. And, some need to   be taught from the beginning. At the end, they usually end up being above  average,” Shibi said. Proud of the victories, the coaches attribute the glory of the school to the  hard work and coordination. “Our major strength lies in our ability to work  as a team. And, we are proud of it,” Shibi added.The students take part in a training camp two months prior to the school  meet and the best among them are elected and provided specialised training. “We have  four coaches who provide training to the students in jumps, throws and track events”, he said.Coordination among coaches is what they believe helps the students shine at  the school meets. “Some of our students are trained by Satheesh Babu of  the Jumps Academy, Pala. We realise that we don’t have the high technical skill to teach the athletes in that area”, Shibi adds. On defending champions St George’s HSS, Shibi believes that it was the  competition they faced from the former over the years that made the meet  interesting. “It is true that it was they who stole the limelight often. But, having them   on the field with us gave a boost to our students,” Shibi admits and adds that however, there were days when the school was treated unfairly. “Last year, we lost an event when a boy from St George’s, who was above age,   won. That was unfair. But then, we took the defeat in good spirit. We have been re-paid well,” Shibi said.At present, the Mar Basil coaches are carrying a distant dream of shaping their wards to compete at the olympics level. “There are chances for these  children. But, they have to be trained well,” Shibi said.