WORLD-RENOWNED coach Stephen Francis, who guides the star-studded MVP Track and Field Club based at the University of Technology (UTech), says athletes need their coaches ahead of a major championship.

Francis said he does not believe it is in the best interest of athletes to be away from their coaches in the weeks leading up to big events such as the Olympic Games or IAAF World Championships.

“It is my opinion that at the time when the camp comes around, the most important thing for the athlete is to be with his or her coach.” Francis argued.

“The camp cannot help anybody whose coach is not there,” the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Level One Certified coach told the Observer.

Francis, who conditions global medallists Shelly Ann Fraser-Pryce, Brigitte Foster-Hylton, Melaine Walker, Asafa Powell, Shericka Williams and Sherone Simpson, said an athlete’s career and earning potential in the immediate aftermath of a major event depends on how well they compete.

“People don’t understand that when somebody goes out there to perform at the Olympic Games or the World Championships that their career is on the line. If they do well, then things will go well for them; if they do badly, for at least a year or two things are going to go badly for them,” he said.

In the past, Francis had been at odds with the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) about MVP athletes turning up for mandatory training camps ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games and the 2009 World Championships in Berlin.

“I believe that as long as I’m able to do what I think is best to get good performances, I’m quite fine. I have a big problem when somebody says, ‘no, do it my way’, even when there is no good reason for you to do it their way, apart from the fact that they say it,” he argues.

“My only problem with the JAAA is that they don’t believe that my way is the best way to prepare my athletes. It boils down to that. Somebody in the JAAA believes on occasion that if my athletes are prepared their way, then they will do better, or they believe that it doesn’t really matter how my athletes perform as long as they are prepared their way.

“When I say ‘no’… they can’t give me any reason. All they really

care about is the rules that they have and they say we must do it their way and it’s in my opinion something which is always going to cause problems,” Francis said.

The former Wolmer’s Boys’ coach noted that save for Usain Bolt, the athletes who were at the camps before the last Olympics and World Championships underperformed.

“It is a known fact, for those who have taken the time to study it, that the last three mandatory camps have been abysmal failures in terms of the results,” he asserted.

He dismissed the argument that it is unpatriotic for the athletes to put self-serving interests above the needs of their country in an international championship.

“No. You are doing badly because elements of the Jamaican citizenry are putting up barriers in your way. I don’t want to be training in front of the people I’m going to be competing against.

“The people in the Jamaican team are not my teammates; they’re your competitors. In the 100, 200, 400, the people you have to beat to win are the very people in the camp,” he reasoned.

And then there is also the human element.

“I need certain kinds of equipment that the Jamaican organisers have never seen it fit to provide. I need somewhere that is close enough to a city that the people when they are bored have something to do.

“I don’t want them deciding to take out their frustrations on each other,” he said. “My athletes can then say, ‘yeah’, or ‘nay’, but I think they understand that it’s better for them not to compete than to compete and do badly based on their personal arrangements because if they compete and do badly, they’re going to pay a heavy price,” said Francis.

However, the veteran coach is not totally dismissive of the need for training camps as he admits collegiate based in the United States who make the team would benefit as they would not likely have access to their coaches in the summer.

“It’s not necessary for the bulk of the professional athletes who are representing the country.” he stated.

According to Francis, practice for relays can be done at a more convenient time, well before the championships, and athletes return to their coaches in time to prepare for the final days before the major events.

Francis declared that a common ground should, however, be found.

“Compromise is the way it should go. There are a lot of athletes who are so afraid that they prefer to go down with the ship,” he explained.