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Most of Jamaica's young track and field local coaches gravitate towards the sprints, which they believe is the best way forward for their charges, with Jamaica's top results, internationally, being from this discipline.

Dwayne Johnson is, however, one high-school coach who is thinking differently, as he is very passionate about middle and long distance, which he wants to see the country excel in.

Johnson is the man behind Jamaica College's (JC) middle-and long-distance programme for the past nine years and was successful at Sunday's Portmore 5K Road Race, as they walked away with a cash prize of $400,000 for the team with the most finishers inside 35 minutes.

According to Johnson, in an interview with STAR Sports, he has a long-standing love for the discipline after being introduced by veteran coach Michael Clarke, who tasked him with working with the middle-and long-distance athletes in 2001 at G.C. Foster College, where he was the manager and assistant coach.

Johnson has since, over the years, developed himself in the craft as he has searched for more experience.

"I went overseas and worked with colleges and universities as a student coach to build my niche here. When I came back to Jamaica, I decided I wanted to continue with that passion and to assist others in this area, and so I went back to my alma mater, and things have been successful," he said.

Johnson states that he always seeks more information to build on his knowledge.

"I even went to Canada for a few months to understudy one of their best middle- and long-distance coaches to get more knowledge," he continued.

His desire for knowledge extended to the United States of America's track and field middle-distance coaching programme, where he pursued Level One and Level Two, specialising in endurance.

"I am currently doing Level Three, so I can better my craft by continuing to learn more to develop athletes here in Jamaica, so we can do well on the global stage, as this drives me.

"For me, it is not only about JC. I am more about national development and willing to share my knowledge, as this is how we will grow," said Johnson, who is helping coach Matthew Tapper at St Andrew High School For Girls with their middle-distance programme.

Aided by their two Ghanaian recruits, JC dominated the Portmore 5K. Johnson expects an improved performance in the upcoming season, especially at the ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships, where they hope to dethrone defending champions Kingston College.

"Ultimately, the goal is to strengthen our middle and long distance. We have always been a strength, but we aim to bolster the longer distances to contribute more points and improve our chances of winning the Mortimer Geddes Trophy.

"So far, things are looking good. We want to develop, and look forward to the upcoming season," he stated.