In the aftermath of the disappointing performances at the Athens Olympics, much has been said about the need to improve. But the effort to do so cannot simply be focused on athletes alone. Instead, any investment should target other areas which are critical for the development of any sport.

Coaching is one of those areas and, judging by their attempts in this respect, most local associations seem to be aware of this.

A typical example is that of athletics where, in order to further boost the local pool of coaches, the MAAA recently organised a course leading to the IAAF Level I certificate, the first of a three-tier scale set by the world governing body of athletics.

It was the second time in three years that such a course was organised and on both occasions Joel Severe was the one appointed by the IAAF to hold the lectures.

For the Mauritius coach, this was an ideal opportunity to assess his work... the verdict was positive.

"When you examine the results obtained by Maltese athletes over the past two years, there has been a lot of progress. You have more qualified coaches with the clubs and that makes a difference."

If that is the case, then the future should be even brighter judging by the good number of aspirant coaches who attended the full-time course lasting two weeks.

"I think that this year's group was better than that of two years ago," was Severe's assessment.

"There were mostly athletes who are coming to the end of their competitive career and who want to pass their knowledge on."

For all the number of new coaches, the situation in Malta is still far from ideal. Whereas for younger ones a coach can deal with "15 to 20 children" that number must decrease when it gets to senior athletes.

Here a coach "should not handle more than six" a situation that is in marked contrast with the local reality particularly at the top end where all the leading athletes are under the care of a handful of coaches.

Another issue that is at odds with the local mentality is that which deals with the choice of a particular sport for younger children. The predominant trend is that, irrespective of their aptitude, they often end up exclusively playing the sport favoured by their parents. Irrespective of their background, most foreign coaches stress that at the earliest age children should be allowed to try out as many different sports as possible.

"Athletics has the basis of all sports. I feel that children should also practise swimming and gymnastics and try out as many team sports as possible," Severe said.

With that as a starting point, the choice of which event to specialise in would be a natural progression. The coach's responsibilities vary with the age of the individual under his attention. For the younger athletes, sports should be all about fun and basics. The coach should then start assessing where they can excel.

Still, progress has to be gradual.

"Athletes then have to focus on events where they have a talent. For instance, they should focus on the sprints and hurdles as a whole, not just the 100m," Severe said.

Patience, where coaches are concerned, isn't a virtue but a must.

"Some coaches want immediate results," he said. "They try to push their athletes too soon and press them to specialise from early on. That is wrong."

Ironically, when the athletes do get to the age where they can specialise they don't always find the appropriate coaching.

"I think that you have some good coaches here," commented Severe.

"However, I do also think that you lack specialised coaches. You need more people qualified in sprints or middle-distance. You are lacking in throwing events as well."

At the same time, Severe agrees that the existing group of coaches offer a good basis for the future.

"If the coaches manage to teach the basics well then the children have the opportunity of moving on."

He even insists that there is nothing barring Malta from producing world class athletes.

"Every country in the world can produce good middle and long distance runners," he says, provided that the athletes receive the appropriate coaching from early on.

And that is the challenge being placed in front of all local coaches.