Coach Chambers - Quarter-miler preps for future in coaching after securing USATF certificate
Experienced Jamaican quarter-miler Ricardo Chambers, having recently secured his United States of America Track and Field (USATF) level one coaching certificate, is hoping to one day coach at the Olympic and World Championships level, as he prepares for life off the track.
Chambers, 31, who has represented Jamaica at the Olympic and World Championships level both in the 400m and the 4x400m, is not exactly ready to hang up his spikes, but is taking the first strides to fulfilling an ambition and putting things in place for when he does decide to retire from competing.
The NACAC Senior Championship 400-metre bronze medallist says he is happy volunteering at Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida, but is also confident that his experience will serve him well whenever bigger opportunities present themselves.
"I feel good as a budding coach. I think with the level one and with my experience as an Olympian I could get into a big university (as a coach), but I want to go as far as possible with having the most knowledge as possible," Chambers told Star Sports yesterday during a telephone conversation.
"It's a big achievement for me (USATF level one coach) because I am trying to get into coaching after I finish competing. I am preparing myself for the future," continued Chambers.
The Trelawny native said he is happy to continue volunteering and honing his skills with the Leon High School 400m programme, where he underlines a feeling of love and respect among the athletes and stafff there.
"I am not gonna say I have all the knowledge in the required areas. I feel like I am learning and learning fast and spending a lot of time doing research. My ultimate goal is to coach professionally so I start at the high-school level, and doing volunteer work with some kids and after that I hope to volunteer at some university, but coaching professionally is my ultimate goal," Chambers outlined.
Thirty-one-year-old Chambers moved to the United States on a track scholarship at Florida State University (FSU), where he represented the Seminoles, winning a silver medal over 400m at the 2006 NCAA Championships.
He also broke the FSU record with 44.71 seconds.
Earlier this year, Chambers, was part of Jamaica's 4x400m men's team, which missed out on a bronze medal in the 4x400m final, where they timed 2:58.51 minutes for a disappointing fourth at the IAAF World Championships in Beijing, China.
For now, the Jamaican is eyeing a successful 2016, however, with the IAAF World Indoors and 2016 Rio Olympic Games high on his agenda.
"Training is going well and I am ahead of the programme," he said in relation to his preparation for the upcoming season.