Lindenwood University Coach Conducts T & F Seminar, Offers Scholarships

The Bahamas Parents Association for Track and Field student athletes continued their development programme securing scholarships at American universities and colleges.
Over the weekend during The Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations National Junior Championship Track and Field and Cross Country Head Coach of Lindenwood University, Dr. Paul Wright was in town for the nationals recruiting.
Dr. Wright indicated that he has made available several scholarships for Bahamian student athletes to attend his school in the fall semester (August 2009).
On Monday at the Colony Club Inn and Suites conference room, Dr. Wright conducted a seminar with interested student athletes from the 11th and 12th grades from various high schools in New Providence.
He told the athletes that things become different once they enter into the USA system as their performances in The Bahamas will make them "superstars" but in the USA they would have to work harder to achieve their goals.
Dr. Wright also noted that each athlete in his programme must have three main goals which are performance, outcome and progress.  
He said performance goals are striving for a personal best each time they compete; outcome is what they want to achieve and progress is what they hope to achieve in the four years at Lindenwood University.
The school is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics

NAIA) and is located in St. Charles Missouri just 15 minutes outside of Lambert International Airport.
He said the scholarships which are offered by his institution ensure that student-athletes graduate from the school with a bachelors degree no matter how long it takes.
Compared to a school registered with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Dr. Wright said Lindenwood would be a better choice to attain a degree for a student athlete as the NCAA institutions only give a maximum of five years to graduate or not.
There are currently five Bahamian student athletes that are a part of the roster at Lindenwood including Ashlee Dorsett, Scotty Ward, Elrich Walker, Jerome Mitchell, and middle distance runner Dwayne Ferguson.
Dr. Wright said he hopes to increase the amount of Bahamians by four with the possible addition of Devanique Dean, Leticha Stevens, Laquardo Newbold and Kemuel Stubbs.
He also expressed interest in several student athletes who competed over the weekend that are in the 11th grade and would like to make Lindenwood a possibility for them in their selection of schools.
Expressing appreciation to Dr. Wright on Monday for their scholarship opportunities was Ward and Walker.  Both athletes said the transition was difficult but they were able to make it.
North Andros High School Physical Education Teacher and National Team Coach Gonzalo Caine expressed to Dr. Wright that he could also find talent by recruiting in the Family Islands. He said athletes like Tamara Myers would be a great choice to be a part of his programme.