Based on Dick’s winning the YMCA 10 km road race in 38:50 minutes, Black said she could do much better, disclosing that he was working on cutting some three minutes off the time.

Black is optimistic that she can run a 35-minute 10km when she again takes to the course for the South American Classic on Sunday. He added that she had worked hard ahead of the YMCA event and that he was pleased with, what he described as, the upset victory over another rising star Jennifer Chichester.

“Not taking anything away from her, Jennifer is a good athlete, she best Delcie throughout last year, but she will have to look out,” Black said.

Black said he noticed Dick run at home in Berbice and was impressed, but she had no real running form and technique. Thus he gave her father some pointers to aid in her development and within two weeks she had done better at another run.

Dick is a student at the Richard Ishmael Secondary School now that she is under Black’s guidance.

The coach, known locally for discovering and investing in athletes, is hopeful that Dick will be considered for future international meets and is anxiously awaiting her performance at Sunday’s race.

Black who is also the manager and coach of Carifta medallist Cleveland Forde, has invested in other distance athletes such as Kelvin Johnson and Reonna Cornette among others. He said he had approached the Amateur Athletics Association (AAA) to include Dick in a number of overseas meets along with Chichester, but she was not. He is of the firm view that she would have medalled at these regional meets where Chichester recorded impressive performances and that international exposure would be crucial to Dick’s development.

Black opined that the best way for top male athletes find their true potential, was to train under one umbrella, identifying Forde, Lionel D’Andrade, Kelvin Johnson and Colin Mercurius.

“All these athletes have potential and I would love to see them training together because I know they will do well in the future,” Black said.

The coach is also confident that Forde will run sub-30 minutes on the course with competition expected to be tougher because of the presence of overseas athletes.

Forde comfortably won the YMCA in a time of 33:22 and Black is looking at him finishing this time around with a better time.