Youth in Focus...Kevin Abbensetts - An athlete battling life’s vicissitudes on the way to the top

Youth in Focus…Kevin Abbensetts – An athlete battling life’s vicissitudes on the way to the top

Apr 06, 2014 Sports

He was born in the Cinderella County of Essequibo 19 years ago. He is currently an athlete operating out of the Mercury Fast Laners Athletic Club under the stewardship of Christopher Gaskin and on the verge of stardom. He has recently been selected to participate in the imminent Carifta Games scheduled for Martinique later this month and is currently engaged in stiff training with his sights set on a gold medal.
While the above introduction may appear glossy, it was not always that way for Kevin Abbensetts, an aspiring athlete who was required to dig real deep while making the necessary sacrifices as he battled life’s many vicissitudes.
Kevin’s father, Carlos Williams, was a middle distance athlete of some renown so Kevin’s involvement was somewhat hereditary. He became involved in the sport while attending the J E Burnham Primary School, David Street, Kitty, at just eleven years old. Kevin said that his activities were restricted to the annual school sports.

Kevin Abbensetts with some of the accolades he has won.

Subsequently, he wrote the Secondary School Entrance Examination and was awarded a place at Campbellville Secondary School where he met Gaskin who encouraged him while piloting his athletic development. However, despite his involvement in a sport that required a great amount of discipline, Kevin failed to conform to those requirements, was in constant trouble with the school administration and frequently summoned to the headmistress’ office.
Kevin was always in a fight, frequently skipped classes and utilized most of his time gambling. He was eventually expelled after appearing before the headmistress once too often on the same offence.
After being expelled from Campbellville Secondary, Kevin enrolled, and was accepted in Tutorial High School. He said he continued to pursue his athletics dreams under coach Shabazz who piloted his enrolment into Roadrunners Athletic Club.
One would have thought that his involvement at the club level would have forced Kevin to curb his excesses. It did not and after moving into the Sophia area in 2009, he decided to try his hand at cricket. It was during a match at the University of Guyana ground that he was accused of stealing a laptop computer from a student of that institution. He was arraigned in the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court, found guilty and because he was still a juvenile, was sentenced to 2 years detention at the Onderneeming Boys School.
It was at this institution that Kevin realized that if he was to change his behaviour he would have had to engage in serious introspection. This decision prompted a fresh start and he dug into his athletics activities with fervour. Under the sports officer of that institution, Warrant Officer, Lawrence Kellman, Kevin set about repairing the damages to his life.
“While at the NOC I played volleyball, netball, cricket, football and a host of other disciplines,” he intimated. Notwithstanding, his love for athletics remained intact and he represented the Onderneeming based institution with distinction.
His stint at the NOC turned out to be the catalyst for that all important metamorphosis and after serving his time Kevin engaged in serious introspection upon introduction into the free world.
He became a full member of the Mercury Fast Laners and became deeply engrossed in athletics. One year after leaving the NOC he was selected to represent Guyana at the Hampton Games in Trinidad and Tobago where he participated in several events and managed to clinch a gold medal in the high jump. He also clocked a time of 10.9secs in the trials and was slated to represent Guyana at the 2013 Carifta Games when fortune dealt him a cruel blow. “Athletics officials instructed another trials and I lost that event to Jason Yaw which cost me a place on that team,” reminisced Kevin.
Undaunted, the young athlete persevered and earned selection in the 2013 Inter Guiana Games in French Guiana where he clinched 2 gold medals in the boys U-20, 100 and 200m respectively. “Despite these personal achievements I was a bit saddened after the (4×100) relay team was disqualified for improperly passing over the baton,” Kevin remembers.
But he was no stranger to such adversaries and Kevin quickly reasserted himself. His most recent achievement occurred on Sunday March 23 last during the Carifta Trials at the Police Sports Club, Eve Leary where he clocked a time of 10:04secs in the 100m race; the qualifying time was 10:05secs.
Prior to this event, Kevin was introduced to the Director of Vizion Sounds, Wally Fraser, who has an eye for talent. Mr. Fraser immediately took a liking to the young athlete and is currently managing his affairs. “This is a decent youth with lots of potential and given time, he will make a big impact on the athletic scene,” prophesied Fraser.
As for Kevin, he has gelled nicely and is focused on the tasks ahead. He has since managed to change his ways for the better and feels qualified to issue advice to his contemporaries, “Life’s challenges should not be regarded as stumbling blocks but rather as stepping stones to success,” he philosophized. Such words are indeed meritorious coming from someone that has been there and done that.