A young boy from St. Paul’s, Grenada is participating in his elementary school’s track-and-field day.

“Just for the fun of it,” he says.

As the boy’s body slowly matures into that of a world-class athlete, he spends his leisure time playing soccer on some of the most breathtaking coastline the planet has to offer.

The boy is senior Joel Phillip and he grew up fond of a sport that was very popular on the tiny island.

Around the age of 12, Phillip’s soccer coach noticed his innate gift of speed and tendered some simple advice.

He suggested the young athlete try track.

Phillip heeded the suggestion and began a storied climb to the pinnacle of a new sport.

He was quickly thrust into competition amid the world’s hotbed of sprinting talent in the Caribbean islands.

When Phillip was 14 years old, he raced against a young man from a neighboring island in an international meet, and noticed his knack for dominance.

Their paths would later cross.

Phillip then captained the Grenada Boy’s Secondary School’s track and field team.

Along the way, he compiled an impressive list of individual titles at the sub-junior, junior and senior levels and was named Student-Athlete of the Year three times in his native Grenada.

As the accolades piled up, Phillip garnered attention from around the world, and life-changing decisions presented themselves.

Backed by aid from his country’s government, Phillip decided to leave the beautiful tropical island he had called home his entire life and headed off to Central Arizona College in Coolidge.

For everybody keeping score at home, that is Coolidge over paradise.

But for Phillip, the decision was much easier.

He had decided his most important obligation was school and if quickness on the track was the avenue to get him there, even better.

Phillip made good use of his time at CAC, earning his associate degree and helping to lead his team to back-to-back National Junior Collegiate Athletic Association titles in 2006 and 2007.

He won the decathlon in 2007 and was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that took first in 2006.

The Sun Devil coaching staff recruits heavily from CAC, and Phillip made an impression on sprint coach Terry Winston.

“He has a lot of God-given talent,” Winston said. “Being as athletic as he is, his ability to jump translates to power in the sprint events, and with him having long legs and the way his competitive personality is … gives him an opportunity to be very successful.”

Phillip has flourished under the tutelage of the ASU staff.

During his first season, he helped bring the first men’s indoor title to ASU by anchoring the first place 4x400-meter relay team and finishing second in the open quarter-mile.

He became only the third sprinter in Sun Devil history to earn All-America honors in both the indoor and outdoor 400 meters.

At the end of the season Phillip’s homeland beckoned, but they were not calling him home.

Instead they were ushering him to Beijing, China, the site of the 2008 Summer Olympics.

Phillip had competed on the world stage before, but said being a part of the Olympics was an experience of far greater magnitude.

He said when he walked onto the track he could feel the vibrations from the thunderous crowd.

Phillip competed in the 400-meters, finishing 39th.

He said the opportunity to see the collaboration of different cultures and the preparation of the world’s best athletes, made his experience about more than just racing.

Phillip also crossed paths with the Jamaican boy he used to race against in the Caribbean, and watched his performance in the 100- and 200-meter dash.

The Jamaican’s name is Usain Bolt, the world-record holder and Olympic gold medalist in both races.

Phillip said watching Bolt’s performance has motivated him for the games in London in 2012.

“It kind of opened my eyes,” Phillip said. “If he did it, I could do it, too, because we kind of grew up on the same stage.”

The track and field days of elementary school have evolved into Olympic competition.

But the boy who has turned into a man is still just running for the fun of it.

Reach the reporter at eschimm@asu.edu.