It is not yet to be officially launched, but the Ricketts Performance Centre is up and running under the tutelage of renown jumps coach Kerry-Lee Ricketts.

The Ricketts Performance Centre is a small training group which includes Kerry-Lee’s wife Shanieka Ricketts, the 2019 World Championship triple jump silver medallist and Diamond League champion.

Also in the group are Jamaican athletes Adrian Riley, Samuel Rowe, Demario Galop, Malik Isaacs, Iangelo Atkinstall-Daley and Guyanese Emmanuel Archibald and Damon Williams, plus Sandisha Antoine from St Lucia.

“We basically cater for the moment to just horizontal jumps and sprints. We try and keep it small for now. It has been going on for almost a year from last April, [but] we haven’t had a launch or anything like that. We just keeping things small for now,” said technical director Ricketts.

Ricketts decided to form his small group after his contract with the University of the West Indies was not renewed in 2020.

“So we are based at UWI Mona at the Usain Bolt track. At the moment, we don’t have a sponsor and funding is from my own expenses and stuff,” he revealed.

“I basically have a vision that this will work and is something I have been thinking about. So when the pandemic affect the UWI programme, it was cut and some of us coaches, not just in track and field, but sports in general, a lot of contracts were not renewed because of the pandemic and I was one of those,” Ricketts pointed out.

“Basically, I decided that I still had some very good athletes at the UWI that I coached while I was there. [But] none of these are sponsored and so most finances come from my pocket,” he emphasised.

Despite the early challeges, the outlook is good.

“So far the programme is looking good, looking promising. Both sprinters and jumpers are at a good place at this particular time and we just hope they can go out there and perform,” said Ricketts.

Two weeks ago, both Riley and Williams, also of Ricketts Performance Centre, finished second and third in the men’s long jump at the JAAA Qualification Series at National Stadium. The event was won by World champion Tajay Gayle of MVP with a leap of 8.03m (+0.8m/s). Riley was second with 7.74m (+2.2m/s) and Williams third with 7.20m (+2.4m/s).

“We plan to compete at all available meets. Damon Williams and Adrian Riley competed at the JAAA Trials [and] both of these guys are promising and we trying to push for qualification to the Olympics in Tokyo,” noted Ricketts.

“Emmanuel (Archibald) opened his season with a 8:10m in the long jump, which was a world lead at the time and now he is at number three. He did 10.21 in the 100m, [and] he ran 10.24 last Sunday and 8.07m,” he added.

“The 2019 Diamond League champion Ricketts will actually open her season at ‘Stadium’, along with Sandisha Antoine on Saturday [today]. Both are producing some nice jumps in training and it will be nice to see what they can open with. Shanieka has already qualified, so we are looking for qualification for Sandisha,” Ricketts ended.