Sunday November 25, 2012
Kaieteur News
Page 53
Yisrael, carving a name for himself By Rawle Welch His services are sought from some of the best athletes and teams locally, but still he remains humble and affable and perhaps those are the two special qualities that have made CEO of the Top End Performance Training System Kezqweyah Yisrael so successful in his current endeavour. Housed at the Guyana Motor Racing & Sports Club (GMR&SC), Kaieteur Sport recently caught up with Yisrael to talk about the business and its relevance in today’s society where fitness and wellness seem to be the watch words these days. Yisrael, a former athlete that played basketball told this newspaper that the Brand started in 2011 and was built on the premise that there was a need for athletes to be trained properly, especially those with the desire to make it to the world class level, but were based at home. “It used to be that many of our top sportsmen and women would usually credit their advanced training
techniques to someone based overseas and because of the absence of top class trainers with the modern methods of preparing athletes for regional and international competitions I saw the need to fill that void hence the birth of Top End Performance Training System,” Yisrael disclosed. According to him, what he saw was a lot of talent, but because of the dearth of top flight preparations which is usually crucial to make it to the top, many of them based locally never get the opportunity to reach their full potential since being successful at the highest level has so much to do with the level of preparations one is afforded in every regard. He added that with the absence of such high quality training many athletes lacked the motivation to carry on and consequently becomes frustrated and exits the sport or merely treats it as a past time effort. He explained that the level of fitness required to compete at the highest level was missing from many of our
players, but Yisrael cautioned that it is not that there aren’t a few trainers equipped with the expertise, but because of poor marketing strategies they remain anonymous. Yisrael has been known to work with some very high profile teams and athletes including the national cricket team in 2010 on the recommendation of the then Territorial Development Officer of the WICB Reon King and so impressed were his clients that West Indies middle order batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan solicited his services as well. “It was those sessions that really opened the door for me because after that I received an offer from the Guyana Squash Association to work with the junior national squad, before being sought by Caribbean Squash champion Nicolette Fernandes, Squash player Regan Pollard and the national hockey team. Yisrael stationed at the GMR&SC has also done remedial work on some very high profile motor racers as well including the current
Caribbean Superbike champion Stephen Vieira, Group 4 champion Mark Vieira, Irfaan Kalamadeen among others. According to Yisrael in an attempt to expand the brand, they’ve embarked on a plan to equip more trainers to attain the expertise so that they can cater for a larger influx of patrons shortly. He singled out Neetzkiel Yisrael as one who has developed admirably and has impressed with his understanding of the techniques needed to become a good trainer. Yisrael revealed they’ve also added other components to supplement their training which includes the physiotherapist Arianne and Massage Therapist Kathleen Paul, who specializes in therapeutic corrective massages. Quizzed on the response to the Business to date, Yisrael first thanked the Management of the GMR&SC for giving him the opportunity to utilize the facility, before announcing that the response has been tremendous and
Top End Performance Training System CEO Kezqweyah Yisrael seen with Caribbean Squash champion Nicolette Fernandes and national cricketer Leon Johnson. encouraging. “We are looking to take Fitness and Wellness to another level and it will not only include athletes, but ordinary persons interested in staying healthy as well. Among the services they provide are Sports Specific Conditioning, Weight Loss Programme, General Strengthening Exercises, while an added dimension has been introduced where persons could now come and rent a bike and cycle outdoors. Yisrael also disclosed that they offer Group Fitness Programmes which could be personalized as well and this
component he stated is the fastest growing trend in the industry. He added that the emphasis is to provide challenging and motivational training that will leave lasting results. The Gym opens on Monday to Thursday from 06:00 hrs- 21:00 hrs and Fridays from 06:00 hrs to 17:30 hrs, Sundays from 07:00 hrs to 14:00 hrs and on most holidays as well. Yisrael closed by extending thanks to David Fernandes, Kevin Jeffrey, Noshavyah King, Compton Blair and all those who in one way or another contributed to his success.