'Godfather' of track and field coaching Ronald Cartwright honoured

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COACH Ronald Cartwright.

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

COACH Ronald Cartwright, considered the ‘Godfather’ of track and field coaching in the Bahamas, was honored on Saturday at the DTSP Track Classic at the Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium.

The jovial Cartwright, who has been coaching for the past 50 years at both the local and international level, was just honored at the World Athletics’ 2019 World Championships in Doha, Qatar when he received the Veterans Pin for his longevity in the sport.

But the founder and head coach of the RC Athletics Club admitted that this latest recognition was special because the DTSP Wolf Pack Track Club treated him like a celebrity.

“I think it was great, fantastic. I appreciate it,” said Cartwright after receiving the recognition as the patron of the meet. “Somebody recognized me, which was good.”

During the presentation of awards, Cartwright got serenaded by a “beautiful lady with a very nice voice,” as he put it. He also received a plaque to add to his collection.

But he noted that whenever you can receive an honor from a club or anybody, then you know that your life is not in vain.

“It’s something that you should feel proud about. You’re being recognized,” he stated. “It ain’t that many people who get honored from clubs and be recognized. I think it’s great.”

While his son, Sidney Cartwright was competing for the CC Sweeting Cobras, Cartwright said he met DTSP’s head coach Larry Clarke, who bestowed the honor on him.

“I used to coach both Sidney and Larry. They went from CC Sweeting to Government High and they went on to form a part of the tandem, who dominated the men’s 4 x 400m relay,” Cartwright said.

“So when coach Larry told me that they were going to honor me, I was thrilled. An award is an award. I am glad that they did this for me. I can’t say this one was better than the other. An award is an award.”

Not one to boast or brag about his accomplishments, but Cartwright said he was pleased with helping so many athletes to get off to college in the United States.

“When you can get athletes off on a degree so they can better their lives, I’m happy with that,” Cartwright said. “So it’s a good feeling for me.”

Cartwright, however, said he’s disappointed that more of the former athletes don’t come back and give more to help the younger athletes in the sport.

He noted that one of the exceptions was Clarke. Another was Corrington Maycock, whom he groomed as an athlete and a coach before he branched out to form his own Blue Chips Club, which is now producing some of the top throwers in the country.

But at age 82, Cartwright still continues to make his contribution and he hopes that he can see the Bahamas get back to the level where they were competitive, especially at the Olympic Games.

“With the Olympics on hand, we don’t even know if we would have a 4 x 4 or 4 x 1m relay at the games,” Cartwright said. “That’s bad. At one point, we were number one. But now we don’t know if we can find a team.

“I think we can find a team. It’s just putting them together because most of our top athletes are in college or university and their schools are not going to let them go to train together as a team.”

In the meantime, Cartwright, who coaches Olympic high jump qualifier Jamal Wilson (the winner of the open men’s event on Saturday), said he will just bask in his glory as the recipient of his latest recognition.