The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

She is considered one of the next female sprinters to watch. But with all of the spotlight on her, sprinter Doneisha Anderson is taking it all in stride.

Her coach, Tonique Williams, is right at her side making sure that her protégé is carefully guided along the path to international stardom.

Anderson, a ninth grader at St Augustine’s College, is one of the top performers in the Tonique Williams Track and Field Club. The soft-spoken 14-year-old said she’s just trying to stay focused on her goal.

“I’m training hard, trying to make my goals,” said Anderson, a 400 metre specialist just like her mentor. “In the 200 (metres), I want to run 22 or 23 seconds and in the 400m, I want to run 52 seconds.”

When asked which of the races she enjoys the most, Anderson quickly pointed out the 400m, but she admitted that it wasn’t because it was an event her coach dominated, but because it allows her to execute her races over the one-lapper than she would in the half-lap race.

“It’s long, it’s competitive and you get a chance to go out, maintain and build up for the finish,” said Anderson, who has proven that she is the real deal running the quarter-mile race, winning every race she has participated in so far this year.

Anderson credits a lot of her ability to adjust to the challenge whenever it is presented to the training she’s getting from Williams, the back-to-back 2004 Olympic Games and 2005 IAAF World Championship gold medallist.

“She’s a good coach. She takes the time to talk to us about track and life in general,” Anderson said. “She makes sure that we do all the necessary things to be a better athlete and a person.

As she reflects on her performances so far, Anderson admits that if she can improve on her form, she will be able to run a lot faster than she is doing right now.

“My form isn’t the best, so I have to work on that. My arm is not exactly where it ought to be, but I’m working on that too,” Anderson said.

Anderson is often labelled as the next Shaunae Miller as she follows in the footsteps of the former SAC standout, who excelled at CARIFTA, winning the Austin Sealy Award for the most outstanding athlete before she went on to become an outstanding elite athlete.

“I expect to make it to the Olympics and make my country and my family very proud,” said Anderson, who has already represented the Bahamas at the TUC and Youth CAC and is hoping to make the team heading to St Kitts and Nevis over the Easter holiday weekend for this year’s CARIFTA Games where she will be looking to improve on her bronze medal in the 400m last year.

The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations (BAAA) 2014 Female Youth Athlete of the Year moved up to compete in the older age group to get some competition. “It’s a little harder, but it’s not hard as yet,” Anderson said of the competition. “I know what I am capable of doing, so I’m not concerned about it. I’m just using it to help me when I get to the next level to compete at CARIFTA.”

Williams, who also coaches a number of other top local athletes, said Anderson is looking good, but there’s still a lot more work for her to cover in order to be where she needs to be.

“We haven’t done our speed work yet and she just clocked 24 seconds,” said Williams after watching Anderson perform at one of the local meets.

“She set a goal for herself of running 22 or 23 seconds, so I definitely think that her mind is right and if her mind is in the right place, it’s just a matter of giving her some speed work and she will be ready.”

As for how fast she can go, Williams, who has a personal best of 49.07m in the 400 and 22.77 in the 200m, said although Anderson is under 16, she’s allowing her to move up to the under-18 so that she can be more competitive.

“Right now it’s just a matter of getting her as fit as possible so that she can go out there and test her skills against any age group so that she can run the best time possible,” Williams said.

“But we’re not putting any caps on her. At the same time, we’re not forcing her beyond what she is ready for at this point.”

Not only Miller, but Williams admits that Anderson has some of the killer instinct that Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie and even herself possessed when they competed and that was one of the reasons why people are taking two and three looks at her so early in her career.

“Some times, I’m just amazed when I remember her age and I say ‘wow, she’s really good for her age.’ But when you look at her physique and you get to know her mindset, you can see that we can do anything that she sets out to do,” Williams said.

From the day that one of her former coaches from AF Adderley Junior High turned Anderson over to her when she participated in a cross country meet that she had organised, Williams said she knew.

“The coach said I’m saving her for you. I know that you are the best coach and the best fit for her,” Williams said. “I think it was a good decision because I’m able to protect her, I’m able to groom her and just watch over her to make sure that she is not overtrained and she is not being over exposed. That’s my priority right now.”

With scouts already coming to town to take a look at Anderson, Williams said she has a task of making sure that she stays focused on running track and getting her school work done.

“I definitely try to make her aware of the sport and what is going on around her,” Williams said. “But at the same time, I do it in a way where she is still a 14-year-old and she can still have some fun and love the sport and that nobody is here putting any pressure on her.

“She knows that because she’s running college prospective times and so she knows that there are people who are watching her. But I’m here to make sure that she takes everything in stride.”

While Anderson will be going for the double in the 200 and 400m in every meet she competes in, Williams said she will also be contesting the 400m hurdles as she tries to get some exposure to more events.

As a former member of the TUC track team where she had to compete in multiple events, including the high and long jumps, 100 and 800m as well as the 100 hurdles, Williams said she wants to expose her to as many events as possible before she finally settles down on her specialty.

“Any of the events she chooses, Doneisha has the potential to be a superstar,” Williams said. “If she even chooses to do the heptathlon (a combination of seven events), we hope that by her 11th or 12th grade, we can get her out here to test her skills in it because she definitely has the potential.”

But for now, Williams said the focus will be on the 200 and 400m.