The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

AFTER making their presence felt in their first year of existence last year, the Red-Line Athletics Track Club is hoping to make more of an impact both locally and internationally.

The club hosted a bake sale outside the Sports Centre in the Harbour Bay Shopping Centre on Saturday in a fundraiser for their trip to the University of Kentucky to participate in their first indoor track meet on February 2.

"We have a group of 25 athletes going along with some parents and supporters, so the bake sale was geared towards raising some funds to cover our expenses," said Tito Moss, the founder and head coach of the newly formed track club.

"The bake sale was very successful and we will have another one at the end of the month in November at the Southwest Plaza.

"We anticipate that it will be successful as well. We want to do things a little different from the other track clubs to enhance our athletes," he said.

This Saturday from 10am to 1:30pm, the club is scheduled to stage a Health and Wellness Seminar in the AV Room at St Augustine's College.

The seminar will be held under the theme: "Building Healthy Lives Through Athletics" as they sensitise their members to a number of pertinent issues surrounding the sport.

• Sonja Knowles, the principal at SAC, will speak on the topic: 'Educational Importance and NCAA Clearing House Requirements.

• Diane Woodside-Johnson, an educator and Olympic coach, will deal with the topic: 'Coach's perspective on track and field. What makes an athlete successful.'

• Rachante Colebrooke, a local athlete, will speak from a personal experience on 'Preparedness and fostering full potential.'

• Michael Armbrister, an assistant club coach, will address the audience on 'Nutrition, You are what you eat.'

• Dr Miquela Rolle, will deal with 'Preventing Injury in Sports and Athletics.'

• Ken Wood will provide some motivation and encouragement.

• Drumeco Archer, president of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations, will talk about 'Becoming the G.O.A.T., the way forward.'

With more than 47 members in the club, Moss said they continue to grow and their trip to Kentucky will be another way for them to motivate the senior athletes, who are aspiring to head off to college.

"We hope to have some collegiate college coaches at the meet, which should lead to some of our athletes getting scholarships," Moss said. "We hope that through the connections we make as well, we will have some of these coaches come to participate in our seminar next year."

Moss, a former middle-distance runner, is also the proud father of Megan Moss, a graduate of SAC, who is now in her freshman year at the University of Kentucky where Bahamian Lonnie Greene is the head coach and "Golden Girl" Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie is an assistant.

"What we have found out is that a lot of the athletes who have received athletic scholarships have done so by participating in this indoor meet," Moss said. "It's only a high school meet, but it's one that Kentucky uses to scout, so we have decided to give our athletes an opportunity to participate so that they can be seen by those college coaches in attendance."

Through the health and wellness seminar on Saturday, Moss said it's their intention to bring more awareness to their athletes about the purpose of being well-rounded athletes as they prepare for their future in the sport.

"It focuses on what it is that they need to do to be successful as they make the transfer from the high school level to the collegiate level," Moss said. "We have a number of dynamic speakers who we feel will be able to inspire and motivate our athletes.

"We just want to speak to the whole athlete - health, academics, athletics and to give these kids every opportunity to succeed and to go to the next level."