The parents of current athletes in Sudbury are generally quite aware of one Robert Esmie.

A gold medal winner at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, the graduate of Lasalle Secondary School is well-entrenched in the elite sporting history of our city.

The kids of today, however, the very athletes that the proud Sudburian who was born in Jamaica is working with, several times a week, well, their knowledge might not be nearly as thorough.

"I just learned last week that he is an Olympic sprinter," said 13 year old basketball talent Sidney Skrobot. "I had no idea. My dad just showed me the video last week."

Now in her third week with Esmie and her Air Blastoff co-horts, Skrobot was drawn to him with no pre-disposition, based on his impressive resume.

"He is super energetic and stuff, and some of the things we are doing are a little different," she said, in a good way. "I did some weight training before, but some of the things here, I had never seen, like the pushups on those rope things."

In the end, her goal is all about personal development and growth.

"I will continue doing it, in part because he's really great, but it's also helped me improve my agility and strength and quickness. I'm bettering my ability to shoot from further out, to shoot threes and be more consistent," added the grade eight student at MacLeod Public School.

"And the extra agility helps me get to the ball faster, to work on my footwork."

Folks can be forgiven if there is a tendency to think of Esmie as solely a track coach. That was clearly his bread and butter as an athlete. That was the attraction for 17 year-old Alena Smania, now more than a year into her partnership with Esmie, having enjoyed success in soccer before unveiling another sporting skill-set in high-school.

"I started doing well in track; in grade 10, I went to OFSAA," said Smania. "That was a really big accomplishment for me. So I figured that maybe I should get more training to help me get to more OFSAAs in the future and advance more."

Ironically, the young athlete with an eye on a possible career as a veterinarian remained motivated, even after the realities of competing on the largest stage of her career were clear.

"We got the OFSAA opportunity only because some teams dropped out, but we were so excited," said Smania, who qualified as part of a Marymount Regals relay team. "This was a much bigger meet than usual. We were watching the races and were just blown away."

"When it came to our race, we came last, but it was so much fun, just for the experience. It kind of motivated me to do more with my athletics."

It is that kind of mindset that allows Esmie to work his magic with Smania, developing an inter-connectivity that continually fuels the competitive juices. "I like how encouraging that he is, how he gets you motivated to work hard, his mindset for training," she said.

"When you think that you have to stop, he gets you to keep going, even when you think that you can't."

Robert Esmie is all about the energy. It's that persona that sets the tone for each and every session. It is simply who he is.

"It's important, especially in a group setting like this," said Esmie. "It sets a competitive environment, so that they do not let themselves get complacent or lazy."

And while he agrees that his deepest knowledge lies obviously with sprinting, that base has grown widely over his years in coaching. "You have to understand the fundamentals of how the body works," he admitted.

"Once you understand that, we teach them to utilize the exercises and ativities to be transferred back into their own sport. Train to be an athlete first, and then specialize at what you do best."

"The truth is that track is often a middle ground for many other sports. It teaches speed, conditioning, power, explosiveness."

All in an environment that resonates with energy.