Children from the Tapp Track Academy (TTA) were paid a visit by former national 100m champion Tyquendo Tracey during a media day hosted by the club recently.

Based at Maxfield Park in St Andrew, TTA, led by Coach Mathue Tapper, has recruited youngsters from the community as well as Richmond Park Preparatory School to prepare them with the basics of track and field, with the intention of them moving on to professional careers in the future.

Many of these young athletes were preparing for the JISA/Little Caesars National Preparatory Championships, which took place at the weekend. Tracey was there to not only give motivation to the youngsters but also to donate cases of bottled water for use at the meet.

TTA also welcomed sponsors AustroJam Farms represented on the day by Director Martin Zsifkovics and Apeiron Digital Pro represented by its Chief Executive Officer Adam Cummings, a former sprinter. These stakeholders were able to see the young athletes going through training drills and also engage in one-on-one interactions with them.

“We have the opportunity for kids to get training that you don’t necessarily get everywhere,” Tapper said during a media scrum after the event. “The grass roots is becoming more and more important because we have 15 and 16-year-olds now who are running adult times. The youth side of it is now a little bit more important than it was before. So Tapp Track is here because of that necessity.”

Key to Tapper’s philosophy is that the children enjoy themselves at training.

“It has to be fun,” he said. “At this age, it’s more important that it is fun so that the kids don’t get bored of the sport too soon. We have a high-level programme, but we have to ensure that it’s fun so we can keep them when they are 17 or 18 and ready to make those big steps.”

Tracey says it is fulfilling to be able to make an impact on the younger generation of Jamaican athletes.

“Tapper is a very good friend of mine, and when he came up with the idea I started pushing it even before it started, and I’m really happy to be able to help in whatever way I can,” Tracey said. “I told him, ‘Listen, whatever you want, just let me know. If I can’t do it, I’ll try to find somebody else who can. It’s a really good thing to help the youth.”

Like Tracey, Zsifkovics knew of and bought into Tapper’s vision before it came to fruition.

“We have been friends with the Tapper family for a long time,” he said. “He always had this idea about how he can uplift the young, less fortunate children in Jamaica to be able to someday compete at a professional level. He came up with the idea of the Tapp Track Academy and we were ready to stand by his side to support him. I think our children are the only future we have in Jamaica, so it was a no-brainer for us to support them.

“As a sponsor, for me to see those children running and doing good things and our logo associated, it means a lot to us because they represent our company and AustroJam represents consistency. Those children will be consistently at the top of the performance going forward.”

Tapper said words could not fully describe how appreciative he is of the support he received.

“I have to give a big big thank you to AustroJam and the Ministry of Sport,” he said. “They had stepped in before we even started. This is our first year and they have decided they want to step up in a big way, so we couldn’t do it without them. Tyquendo came today and donated some bottles of water ahead of Prep Champs because we are the academy that grooms Richmond Park Prep, so he stepped in to help us with that. Much appreciated.”

The children participated in warm-up and wicket runs in a showcase for those in attendance. This was followed by an exhibition sprint relay race which featured students of TTA competing against their parents and coaches.