By Anna Haynie
Haynie@newsroom.byu.edu
Anna-Lee Walcott, a Trinidad native, had a dream of coming to America, but she knew her parents couldn't afford to send her.
She knew the only way she could make her dream come true was through track.
'My dad always told me I could do anything, and I only needed to decide what I wanted to do,' Walcott said.
She made up her mind to come to America and knew track could get her here.
Walcott's first coach was her older brother who pushed her hard to be a good runner.
When she got to high school, the school's soccer coach saw Walcott's desire to improve and wanted to help her. He had never coached before, so he began reading books and watching tapes so he could provide Walcott with good training.
Walcott's performance improved to a level that had many schools knocking at her door. The University of Utah, Michigan, and Wyoming were a few of the schools vying for her attention.
Her chance to come to America had arrived.
Walcott always knew that she would make it someday, but was surprised at the amount of attention she got from American schools.
'I wonder how they knew about me,' she said.
Of all the schools she looked at, Walcott felt the best about BYU, and she's happy with her decision.
'The coaches at BYU are so much better because they are so understanding,' Walcott said.
Even though she is not a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Walcott says the religious atmosphere fits her well.
'This probably sounds weird, I don't understand it myself, but I just feel like I'm in the right place,' Walcott said.
Head track coach Craig Poole knows Walcott is in the right place.
'Athletes from different countries generally work hard to validate the confidence we've put in them,' Poole said. 'We've never been disappointed with Anna-Lee. She's very intense, very coachable, she adds a tremendous dimension to our team.'
In her first attempt at the heptathalon, Walcott amazed everyone with the second highest score (5,131 points) ever made by a freshman in the history of BYU.
Poole and Walcott are now training to improve her score by 50 points, which would qualify her for nationals.
Walcott says that her success has taught her to like the heptathalon.
One of Walcott's big fears is that she will stop improving.
'Coach says I am so good, but I'm just afraid I won't continue to improve,' she said.
BYU's facilities and coaching staff provide Walcott and other athletes all they need to satisfy that hunger for improvement.
Walcott said she is impressed by the facilities at BYU. The tiny weight room in Trinidad that she grew up using was modest compared to the one she uses now. Better equipment has helped her to improve significantly.
'The amount I lift now is great. If I went home they would think I was He-man,' she said.
Running with the different shoes for each event is also new to her. In Trinidad she had one pair of shoes for all events.
'Actually doing the events in the right shoes is weird, I don't think I'm accustomed to it yet,' Walcott said.
Walcott's dream of coming to America has come true, but she does not intend to stop there. Her next goals are getting a business degree and going to the 2004 Olympics.
Walcott's hunger for success will surely help her to achieve her goals.
'She's always asking for more, even when she shouldn't,' Poole said.