ATHLETES from the Mid-Island Striders Track Club will be off to the renown Golden South High School Classic in Orlando, Florida next month where a number of US college coaches will be watching them perform. Head of the Striders, Bill Euler, said he was hopeful that the young athletes would be able to secure college scholarships while at the meet, which starts on June 5.

"After that we have the AAU Junior Olympics (also in Orlando) where, last year we took seven athletes and returned with 11 medals and then we finish off with the East Coast Invite in North Carolina," said Euler.

This trip by the Striders comes on the heels of their recent "Fourth Annual College Tour" which included watching some of the top athletes from the United States perform at the Penn Relays.

The group, including six students from various high schools, toured the Philadelphia and Delaware areas.

Euler said: "The first school we visited was Temple University. The students always enjoy Temple because it has a city atmosphere and it is very diverse. The next school on the agenda was Villanova University. When we got to the school the students noticed right away how different it was to Temple. Villanova was also having their "Spring Fling", but the atmosphere and student population wasn't as diverse.

The last school of our tour was scheduled to be the University of Delaware. However, after careful consideration, we decided to visit the predominately black Delaware State University. This tour proved to be one of the best tours out of the four years we have been doing this. We were privileged to be escorted by two students from the Caribbean. One student was from the Bahamas and is on the Bahamian National Track Team. The other student was from the Virgin Islands and is the president of the Caribbean Student Association. Both of the tour guides expressed the importance of keeping up with your studies first and athletics second."

Euler said that both stated that "if you come to college with a high school mentality, you will be in for a rude awakening".

Euler added: "The Bahamian guide then brought two of our senior athletes to the head track coach to discuss scholarship possibilities. The tour was short but to the point and we think the students learned the most from this school. The students who participated in the tour were: Andrea Jackson, Keimar Clarke, Keira Hilll, Marvin Williams, Lovintz Tota and Randy Broadbelt. Coaches Bill Euler and Tony Bean."

Another group of seven local athletes met the first Striders group in Philadelphia to attend the Penn Relays. This group included Whitney Matthew, Debra Matthew, Steven Furbert, Joella Foster, Tristan Francis, Oren Smith and Melissa Clarke.

Euler said: "On Thursday the athletes and parents enjoyed watching the (high school) relays and anticipated the day when Bermuda could once again race in one of the best track meets in the world.

"Friday morning was a dream come true for all of the party of 15. Anthony Raynor of the West End Athletic Club, arranged for us to attend the training session of the US, British and Jamaican National Track Teams before they raced on Saturday. The venue was St. Joseph's University and when we arrived who should we see waiting for her teammates, but Marion Jones! The bus soon arrived and out came Chryste Gaines, Inger Miller, Kelli White, Terrance Trammell, Justin Gaitlin, Jon Drummond, Crystal Cox and the former high school phenomenon turned pro, Allyson Felix. Coaches Brooks Johnson and the famous John Smith were also there. Everybody just sat looking stunned and watched the "pros" warm up. We then watched them do drills that we had learned the previous month from master coach Randy Huntington. We also watched them practice their relay head offs. After practice the US team took pictures, signed autographs and chatted with our athletes, parents and coaches. We also gave a few of the US athletes Bermuda Track and Field shirts to have as souvenirs.

"The rest of the day and Saturday the group watched the very athletes they were just talking to, win all of the races. On Sunday half of the group came back to Bermuda and the remainder attended a field events clinic held by coach Bill Guy and the Women's Olympic Development Committee."

Euler said the trip was another "huge success" and inspired the athletes to further their education and strive to do better in their sport.

He said: "To date, five athletes who have been on our tours are in college and five more from this season have scholarship offers. Next year we are looking at touring Texas or California."