' Winning now a habit at Edwin Allen'

Edwin Allen High's head coach, Michael Dyke, said last Saturday that winning has now become a habit at the Frankfield-based school.

"It (winning) has become a part of us and they say winning will become a habit and it is pretty much a habit for us at this point in time," Dyke told STAR Sports after his team won the girls' title at the ISSA-GraceKenndy Boys and Girls' Championships for a third straight year.

He added: "I think it would have been very devastating had we lost the championships, because the girls have worked very hard along with the coaching staff, management everybody. We put our all into it and we got the just reward," he said.

He also disclosed that the initiation (winning habit) starts from the moment athletes walk through the gates of the school. However, although they won by 66 points, Dyke thought it was far from a perfect championships for them.

"As they (new athletes) get into the programme we teach them the sort of discipline we instil in the girls, so they pretty much learn from the seniors very quickly, and knowing that we are a winning team, a champion team, as they enter their blood becomes blue and they are ready to start the role," he continued.

"We had disappointments throughout the championships but in the end we are very happy. It doesn't matter the margin (of victory) what is important is that we are still the champion."

Dyke said the school did very well in the sprints and middle distances but fell down a bit in the throws.

"It's for us to look at where our strengths and weaknesses lie and build on our weaknesses going forward," he said.

- L.S.