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‘Start them slow, and success will come’

SINGAPORE — Pedro Acuna, the man who once trained Singapore national men’s 100m record holder U K Shyam, is now tasked with developing the next generation of stars as head coach of the Singapore Sports School’s track and field academy.

SINGAPORE — Pedro Acuna, the man who once trained Singapore national men’s 100m record holder U K Shyam, is now tasked with developing the next generation of stars as head coach of the Singapore Sports School’s track and field academy.

The Chilean, who started work last week, succeeds Ralf Iwan, who left the sports school about a year ago.

Acuna is no stranger to the school, having had a three-year stint as a part-time coach from 2007 to 2010, where he worked with student-athletes like Shanti Pereira, Eugenia Tan and 2010 Youth Olympic Games sprinter Liang Wei.

But the 48-year-old is best known for helping 2001 SEA Games silver medallist Shyam clock 10.37secs at the World University Games earlier that year to better Canagasabai Kunalan’s 33-year-old record of 10.38sec.

However, Acuna does not want to dwell on the past. His new role will see him oversee the training of the boys’ sprints and hurdles cohort.

The key to success, said Acuna, lies in the school’s long-term athlete development programme which focuses on helping the student-athletes build a broad base of track and field skills via a multi-event approach, with specialisation only kicking in around the age of 16.

“Instead of early specialisation, the athletes are exposed to throws, jumps, sprints, hurdles from Secondary One,” Acuna told TODAY.

“We have already done this multi-event training (with athletes like Pereira and Tan), but we will improve this and also expose them to combined events competitions overseas in Malaysia and Australia.”

“The idea is to create all-round athletes who are versatile in track and field. When you create a broad base of motor skills experience, you have a higher chance of having an athlete with higher potential.”

Acuna, who holds a coaching diploma from the Johannes Gutenberg University, has an impressive track record to back his philosophy.

Pereira, 18, is the national record holder for the women’s 100m (11.80s), 200m (23.99s) and 4x100m relay (46.64s), while Tan broke Yu Long Nyu’s 22-year long jump benchmark at last weekend’s Singapore Athletics Track and Field Series 4 with her leap of 5.94m.

Acuna also trained Chile’s national men’s 100m (10.10s) and 200m (20.15s) record holder Sebastian Keitel, a bronze medallist at the World Indoor Championships in 1995.

The Singapore Sports School’s three-phase programme is targeted at getting young athletes to progress in developmental stages, stabilise their skills, and help prevent injuries, burnout and over-training of the youths.

Acuna believes this strategy, if implemented effectively, could solve the Republic’s track and field woes, and help in nurturing young talent and reduce the attrition rate.

Singapore, which once boasted the likes of Chee Swee Lee — she won the 1974 Asian Games women’s 400m gold medal — and 1966 Asian Games men’s 100m silver medallist Kunalan, now lags behind in athletics regionally. At the 2013 SEA Games in Myanmar, the Republic claimed just two of the 47 golds at stake.

Acuna plans to work with Singapore Athletics and primary schools, and get parents and teachers on board the programme.

“Germany, England, Australia are some of the countries which are doing this. We have to try and change the mentality, the country is going so far in technology and education, but in sports it is still far behind,” he said.

“It’s not about getting medals or world records as soon as possible. It is my aim to change the direction of track and field in Singapore.

“I’m very optimistic (about this). I have produced a lot of athletes in Chile. You know that if you go through this, there is a high chance that they will reach an international standard.”

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