Mellieha AC's Dutch partnership paying off

It is the day after the LRC six-mile race and a number of the sizeable group of Mellieha AC runners milling about at the Marsa track are justifiably pleased with the previous day's results.

Many either set personal bests or were very close to doing so. Watching from the sidelines, coach Has Kesra has a cold shower in store for them.

"I don't want personal bests now, I want you to be running at your best in January and February when the marathon is near," he said.

"When you're winning it is easy. It is how you manage your failures that is important. What happens when you have a bad result in one or two races? Do you decide that running is not for you and opt for another sport? Or do you sit back to see why you aren't doing so well and try to improve? That is what makes the difference."

It seems a strange motivational speech but the runners took it in, underlining the respect they have for the Dutch mentor. Kesra has been Mellieha AC's head coach for the past 13 years and he takes up the story of how that came about.

"The club was founded in 1992 and two years later Robert Vella got in touch proposing that I take over as coach. I liked his vision and the idea of having a long-term plan to help develop athletics here so I agreed," he said.

"It is not something that I do for the money but because I wanted to give something back to a country that, in athletics terms, is still developing."

His work seems to be paying off.

"Mellieha AC now have a good group of athletes and over the past year, as a team, we have won everything from the Malta Marathon to the Road Running League so I would say that our work is going well," Kesra said.

Each year he sets out a training programme for athletes of various abilities which is then distributed among the members. This is supplemented by regular trips to Malta where he focuses on technical abilities, helping runners improve their style.

Dutch, but of Moroccan descent, Kesra heads an athletics school in Holland that oversees the development of more than 1,000 members. That experience has helped him assist Mellieha AC but it has also put him in a strong position to identify what can be improved at a wider level.

"I see a lot of athletes running around, putting on mileage when they should be focusing on being more efficient," he said. "They could train less and achieve better results yet many still focus on the physical side of training rather than the psychological."

Olympic dream

Kesra's latest training camp in Malta came just at the start of the long distance running season, one where Mellieha AC plan to defend their Road Running League title they won last season. Kesra, however, isn't going to be satisfied with such short-term ambitions.

"My dream is to have an athlete in the Olympic Games," he said. "If I find someone who is good enough, I'd take him with me to Holland to help him develop."

That might seem an ambitious goal but, having helped the Mellieha club come so far, Kesra certainly isn't one to aim low or let failure stop him.