Richard Bryan, Star Writer

SHERONE SIMPSON

The recent success of athletes, who have been direct products of the local high school athletic system, at the Olympic Games in Beijing, could have far-reaching effects, according to Jerry Holness, coach of Manchester High.

The school is the alma mater of Olympic silver medallist Sherone Simpson and Nester Carter.

"What it shows us is we have always done our job," Holness told The Star, as he reflected on the gold medal performance of Usain Bolt and Melanie Walker yesterday.

"I would like to believe the greatest impact will be on the youngsters, who can tangibly relate to stars, who came directly from their high schools," he added.

Holness is both a certified IAAF level five coach and a level two instructor.

He hopes the current euphoria being experienced from the Games will send a message to principals and corporate Jamaica.

"They will definitely listen to us," said Holness, who explained that it has been a difficult to convince principals to invest more in the athletic budget, which is generally smaller in proportion to what is obtained for, say, schoolboy football.

"Personally I've had to come up with creative schemes to raise money to send athletes to even Penn Relays and now I am hoping more people will see the benefits of putting more in the school programs,"

Another interesting impact of Beijing on local high coaches according to Holness could be the lure to coach athletes at a higher level, as is the case with MVP coach Stephen Francis and Glen Mills.

"I suppose some of us will want to get to the elite athletes, or nurture our own athletes at a higher level," he said.