After witnessing a less-than-expected medal haul at the Paris Olympics in the summer, Racers Track Club Head Coach Glen Mills believes track and field in Jamaica could decline significantly if the Jamaica Athletics Administrative Association (JAAA) does not improve how it governs the sport.

The island took home six medals during the games in the French capital with four coming from field events. It was Jamaica’s lowest medal tally since the 2004 Athens Games and the first time since the 2000 Sydney Olympics in which no Jamaican finished with a gold medal in the sprints.

Mills, who guided the career of sprint legend Usain Bolt, says he wasn’t surprised by many of the outcomes and says the JAAA needs to act quickly.

“We have to pay attention to what happened in Paris and what happened in the recent World [Under 20] because they are showing the cracks and symptoms that exist that need urgent attention if we do not intend to fall into the quagmire that West Indies cricket has gotten itself into,” he said at a UWI-led symposium.

“I remember, as a youngster when I used to listen to cricket, it was as if West Indies was unbeatable in any form of the sport and they had a tremendously long reign but I don’t think any attention was being paid to the weaknesses of what was needed for the continuity to perform at a high level,” he added.

Mills, now, is concerned that a comprehensive review hasn’t been done by the JAAA.

“I have not heard any attempt to have a commission of inquiry, or whatever you want to call it, into what were the problems and the causes of such a dramatic drop in our medal earnings. The standard that we have been able to maintain for several decades means this sudden drop requires attention,” he said.

“If we listen to Stephen Francis, myself and a number of players in the game, we have been pointing out and crying out for things to be attended to, but it has been falling on deaf ears. Especially a couple of interviews I’ve listened [to] with Stephen Francis, a number of things he pointed out years ago is now beginning to affect us significantly.”

Mills says the leadership of the JAAA doesn’t seem to value the opinions of those involved in the sport.

“I can’t recall us being summoned to any kind of forum where all the top coaches of the clubs are involved in a frank and clear discussion with the administration. Most of it has been through interviews and informal talks and discussions, so we find very little attention has been given to the points raised, so we continue to have the divide between what we think is in the best interest of the sport and the athletes, as against what the association thinks.”

Mills says the coaches and leaders of the track clubs locally must have a greater say in the track and field programme.

“There needs to be a greater interworking relationship or connectivity between the coaches, the club administrators who are the persons on the ground involved in working with the athletes and whatever campaign or programme to earn additional medals or increased performance; they have to be a major part in whatever planning and programme that is going to be developed.

“Too often, the executives of these associations do not involve the membership in their day-to-day work and planning. Yes, they’re the executive body and must lead but you cannot have that disconnect because you will not have the kind of cooperation and unity of purpose that is necessary for success.”

He also believes the JAAA needs a drastic overhaul with the growth of the athletics globally,” he said.

“The sport has evolved far more than what it used to be 20-30 years ago and therefore it requires a more professional and trained approach in running the sport, which in the case of track and field, we have international status of the highest level and unfortunately, our administrative structure has lagged behind in the way we do things,” said Mills.

“We need to have the administration look at itself, probably do an administrative audit — if there’s such a thing — to identify what are the problems that exist and how are we going to tackle them because we cannot continue going into world competitions and expect to get the kind of results that we need if we do not correct our current approach.”