Coach Stephen Maguire answered these questions for www.sini.co.uk about the benefits of training in Florida..
What benefits are there to training in warm weather?
When you are training in warm weather the intensity of the work is much higher, we can sprint faster here in the heat and have no issues with cold weather like we do back home. It is impossible to work at the top level in cold conditions and we are lucky here that all the facilities are on site.
Who do you train with in Florida?
The squad that Jason trains in is wide and varied and all the athletes are world class, the most famous member of the squad is Tyson Gay, who is the top sprinter in the USA and took silver at the recent World Championships being beaten only by World Number 1 Usian Bolt.
Other athletes include;
- Steve Mullings from Jamaica who ran 19.98 in the 200m and 10.00 in the 100m and 5th in Berlin at World Champs 200m and 4x100m Gold medal.
- Kersin Bledman (10.10 100m and Silver Olympic 4x100m relay)
- Andretti Baynes (400m 44.66 Silver, 4x400m at Olympics)
- Debbie Ferguson, Bahamas (Multiple World and Olympic Medallist)
- Aileen Bailey, Jamaica (World and Olympic relay gold medallist)
- Shalonda Solomons, USA (World Junior 200m champ, 11.04 100M, 22.36 200M)
- Kelly-Anne Baptiste, Trinidad and Tobago (10.94 100m)
- Sherisa Woods, USA (400M 51.08)
- Nikel Ashmeade & Ramone Mac Kenzie (1st and 2nd at World Junior Champs 20.40 and 20.55 200m)
How important is it to train with the best in the world?
The aspirations of each athlete is higher, For Jason’s group training and competing is their job, so they work hard knowing that their salary is dependent on performance.
The attitude to winning at world level is higher, no-one here is making up the numbers at any meet, and the entire training group took medals home last year at the World Championships.
As a coach do you feel you benefit from spending time in Florida?
Absolutely, working alongside Lance Brauman is an education; he talks about sub 10 and sub 20 for 100m and 200m. A typical day lasts from 9.30am - 2.30pm and is very intense, covering all the bases needed to develop world class sprinters.
The attention to detail is very high; technique is worked on six days a week plus running and weight and circuit sessions.
How much influence does SINI have when you are in Florida?
The influence that SINI has when we are in the States is huge. Phil Glasgow (SINI Head Physiotherapist) was here setting up our medical support and also giving his expertise to other athletes in the group too. We're very lucky, Jo Hopkins (SINI High Performance Manager) and Peter McCabe (SINI Athlete Services Manager) trust and believe what we're trying to achieve. I’m in constant contact with SINI and without SINI's support it would be difficult for us to achieve our goals.
As a support team we can’t ask for anything more, nothing is too big an issue for SINI if Jason or I need support we can ask SINI and we will need support from now to London 2012.
