Birchfield Harriers' Dave Lawrence last night urged the Government to put their faith in the nation's club system to fulfil the task of providing elite athletes for the 2012 Olympics. The Stags' men's team manager voiced concerns that the pressure of having to produce a successful team for the London Games of 2012 would tempt athletics policy-makers into forsaking the traditional structure and go down the road of investing in costly high-performance centres. That, he maintained, was not necessary because Lawrence believes the capacity for turning out world-class competitors like Kelly Sotherton and Mark Lewis-Francis already exists at leading clubs like Birchfield Harriers and Belgrave. What was needed, he said, was well-directed investment into individual clubs to sustain the recent improvement in standards. Lawrence said: "It is absolutely fantastic. I was nearly in tears when it was announced, it was amazing. "But I hope there is a period of reflection now where they sit back and see what the clubs have got to offer and not just disregard us by building another high performance centre. "If they just gave the clubs more leeway there is no doubt we would produce even more elite athletes. "We see them at grass roots level all the time, we recognise talent every week. "They should use the excellent clubs across the country who have got the enthusiasm and expertise to be able to do what they always have done and that is to produce athletes. "If the Government was to turn around and give us just a little bit more money we could do that even better." He trumpeted the Perry Barr outfit as an example of an organisation that could provide many future Olympians just as they have done with Sotherton and Lewis-Francis. Both won medals at the most recent Olympic Games in Athens last year. He added: "You have only got to look back at the record books to see how many Olympians and world championship competitors we have produced. "We have come up with more than our fair share of elite athletes, often as much as a quarter of the national team. All we need is a little bit of help to make sure they are developed in time for London." He also said that Birchfield was the home to several young athletes, many of whom will be at the National School Championships at the Alexander Stadium tomorrow and Saturday, who could go on to represent the area and the country in seven years' time. It was a theme developed by women's team manager Lyn Orbell who also welcomed the capital's success and backed Harriers to continue their proud tradition of grooming talent. She identified some of the young athletes under her tutelage, such as twin sisters Ejiro and Ese Okoro who run the 800 metres and 300m hurdles respectively, and Kayo Titiloye as potential stars. Orbell said: "Some of them who will be at the English Schools Championships this weekend will make it to London in 2012 and if we are lucky there will be quite a few from Birchfield because we have got such a good crop at the moment." Meanwhile, the University of Wolverhampton's flagship sports centre is set to play an important role in the 2012 London Olympics. Walsall Sports Centre will be used as a venue to train judo hopefuls who will be competing in the Games and is one of few national Judo Centres of Excellence in the UK. It was recently presented with a National Lottery Blue Plaque, an honour given to select sporting venues in support of London's bid. | 
