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Holmwood Technical High's girls, one of the most successful track and field high school programmes over the past two decades, have fallen off rapidly in the past two seasons, especially the current one.

Winning 10 ISSA/GraceKennedy Boys and Girls' Athletics Championships (Champs) titles and 21 Championships of America plaques at the Penn Relays, only Vere Technical have won more silverware among local schoolgirls than the Christiana-based Holmwood, who are tied with Edwin Allen High in titles won in both areas.

At Champs, Holmwood ended fourth with 128.5 points, being more than doubled by Edwin Allen and Hydel, who finished with 335.5 and 326 for first and second, respectively.

Their poor run of form continued a week ago at the 128th staging of the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, where they were fifth in the Championships of America 4x800 metres relays, after advancing as the 12th and final qualifiers, and sixth in the 4x100 relay. Their 4x400 relay, on what was a rare occasion, failed to make the final.

ASSURANCE

Head coach Dave Anderson, who took over the reins from the successful Maurice Wilson, in an interview with STAR Sports, assured supporters Holmwood will return to being a force, and blamed this year's performances on several factors that affected their programme.

"We were not surprised with the results at Champs, as, based on our internal competition, including time trials, we knew that things were not what we wanted. Holmwood will be back and will be much stronger. You can look out for big things starting next year, as all is not lost," said Anderson, who has been at the helm for the past 16 years.

"We fell down very badly at Champs this year, but we were let down in the field events, as our coach in this area did not return after last year's Penn Relays, and this took a toll on the coaching staff.

"We also lost some 60 points from several team members who had contributed last year but had moved on," said Anderson, who also outlined that their field events staff dropped from six or seven coaches to only two.

QUALITY

According to Anderson, Holmwood stopped being attractive to elite upcoming athletes, which has helped in their plummet. He contends, however, that they still have quality within their ranks to return to being competitive.

"Unlike former years, we are unable to recruit like we used to, as we are not getting the top talents. We do, however, have a young group and the signs are good going forward.

"Some of these girls are now in Maryland for the East Coast Invitational meet this Saturday, and this will be a good experience for them going forward," Anderson said.

He believes youth was a factor in their poor showing at Penn Relays.

"We had a young team going to the Penn Relays, especially in the 4x400 metres relay, where one of our top athletes, who represented Jamaica at the Carifta Games, had visa issues and did not get to travel with the team. This affected the performance, so we took a young team for the experience," he said.

Asked if his job is under pressure, he responded: "I know that once you are in charge of something and there are not good results, you will be under pressure. However, I do not think I am under any pressure as despite being disappointed, the stakeholders are patient as they know things will get better, and I am getting their full support."