Athletics: Celebrity tracks speedster

By TERRY MADDAFORD

Having a television camera shoved in his face as he warmed up for the defence of his national under-18 800m title at Hastings' Nelson Park gave Nick Willis the first hint he had been singled out.

While a little overwhelmed at the unwanted pre-race attention from those who should have known better, 17-year-old Willis was more concerned at how his rivals would view the intrusion.

"I wondered what everyone would be thinking," said Willis. "It was a bit off-putting."

A far cry indeed from his unheralded entry in last month's Wanganui mile, when he stunned the athletics fraternity by stopping the watches at 4m 01.32s - a time which immediately had him tagged as New Zealand's best mile hope since John Walker and under the 4m 02s Willis had written on a scrap of paper before the start.

"It was a real shock to see cameras stuck in his face like that," admitted Willis' longtime coach Don Dalgliesh after watching his star athlete charge to an easy victory in Hastings. "It is something I would rather he did not have to contend with at the moment. Just as I would like to see talk of him being hailed as the next Snell or Walker being toned down.

"He is a level-headed kid and has the ability to cope, but I would be happier if he was allowed to develop without such pressure. The first time you are confronted with this sort of thing it is hard to ignore it."

While his mile in Wanganui thrust Willis into the headlines and earned him an invitation to run an indoor mile in New York in a couple of weeks, he is no Johnny-come-lately, although Dalgliesh has been careful not to push him too far too fast.

In the days when he split his time between track and rugby - he played anywhere in the backline - he was a useful performer at the Colgate Games where, as a Hutt Valley High schoolboy, he won over 400m, 800m and 1500m.

Why the sudden improvement?

"Last winter, for the first time, he flagged rugby and spent the time in building his strength. He won the national under-18 cross country and road titles," said Dalgliesh. "The strength he developed from a solid winter's training was just part of a carefully-planned programme."

There was no hurry to up his training regime from a sedate 40-50km a week.

"When I was running, I ran with a big mileage coach. I was happy to hammer myself," said Dalgliesh.

"But that did not, and does not, work for everyone. Nick, who has a light frame but good basic speed, is now up to 60km.

"We will stretch that to 100km a week over the next four years. I use the ideas touted by Arthur Lydiard and Ron Clarke.

"Nick keeps amazing me," Dalgliesh admitted. "We are into a bit of target-setting. This year we wanted to break 1m 50s [for 800m]. He has done that. And, as he had never run a mile before Wanganui, I thought 4m 05s was achievable."

The world, as they say, is at Nick Willis' feet.

While in New York, where he may or may not get to test himself against US schoolboy sensation Allen Webb, he will take the opportunity to check the US university scene. But one he is unlikely to rush into it.

His father Richard, who long ago was roped in as announcer at athletic meetings, said his preference was for his son to remain in New Zealand - a view shared by John Walker.

"There are a lot of unknowns for someone going to an American university, although we are luckier than most, as Nick's older brother Steve had 3 1/2 years there and we got to understand the good and bad," said Richard Willis.

He was surprised his son - who had suffered with a virus in the week leaving up to the adidas New Zealand championships - had run so well. "There are good reasons to be cautious."

A Victoria University lecturer who has played a key role in Nick's development since his mother died when he was 4 1/2 years old, Willis said he had been a bit surprised at his son's sudden rush into the headlines.

"He was a little third and fourth- former, but he has come on quickly since then. While school work was never a priority for him, he did well to get bursary last year in subjects like calculus and physics."

John Walker said every effort should be made to ensure Willis remained in New Zealand.

"If anyone asked me, my advice would be for him not to go to an American university," said Walker. "Too many are looking for short-term gains, but have no long-time programme. They get what they can from their athletes and then spit them out. Any good athlete can do it from New Zealand. Nick Willis certainly can make it [to the top] from here.

"We have to allow him to develop. I would like to see him, along with five or six other young athletes, go to next year's Commonwealth Games. If I had been given the opportunity to run, and learn, at the 1972 Munich Olympics, I would have won at the 1974 Commonwealth Games."

With next year's Manchester Commonwealth Games following hard on the heals of the World Junior Track and Field Championships in Jamaica, Dalgliesh sees this as an ideal build-up for Willis.

While he is keen to see his charge concentrate on the 800m, Willis is not so sure - he feels his better chance at the junior championship might be over 1500m.

That promises to be an interesting coach-athlete debate in the career of a young man in a hurry - but with his spikes still firmly on the track.