By Neo Baptiste
National junior sprinter, Ajani Daley, is set to take up a one-year scholarship with the Spire Academy where he will focus on business while refining his skills on the track with coach Kerron Stewart.
The 17-year-old 100 meters specialist who has a personal best of 10.48 in the 100 and 21.75 in the 200 meters, leaves for the school based in Geneva, Ohio on Wednesday, October 12.
The athlete’s father and coach, Ted Daley, said that following discussions with his wife and former national sprinter, Heather Samuel Daley, a decision was reached that Spire Academy is the best option for their son.
“The coach at Spire is somebody who, both Heather and myself, know personally and that is Kerron Stewart who is one of the Jamaican golden girls from when Veronica Campbell and so on were competing. The programme he is going into, we have had discussions with her for weeks now and the programme is similar to what he is doing now. The difference is that he will be doing it more often there,” he said.
Ted, himself a former national athlete, said they were also very impressed with the facilities available at Spire.
“They have 12 indoor volleyball courts, they have four Olympic size swimming pools, they have American football and our traditional football, and they have four each of those fields. They have an indoor 300 meters track and an outdoor 400 meters track. Their weight room is off the charts and they have people specialising in each of these areas,” he said.
The coach also revealed that coaches at Spire Academy have also shown interest in a number of other athletes and that preparations are being made to have them go off when the time arrives.
“Right now, they are also interested in one other youngster in Antigua, in Dwayne Fleming. We are trying to put things in place so that when he graduates, or when he would have completed his CXC [examinations] next year, we want to get him into that school as well. In addition to that, the relationship we are developing with them will open the windows for other young Antiguan athletes,” he said.
Ajani was Antigua and Barbuda’s lone qualifier to the World Athletics Under-20 Championships held in Cali, Colombia in August this year. He clocked a personal best of 10:48 seconds to finish fourth in heat 6 of the opening round.
