Have you ever seen the movie Finding Forrester?

It's about a former novelist who takes an inner city kid under his wing and mentors him. The two meet every day after school, and after several months, the kid becomes one of the most competitive students at a distinguished private school in New York.

Elmejdoubi ran track at Southern Miss, and then pursued a professional career. He still holds his professional status, but also is the owner of Hattiesburg's Soccer Locker and City Runners.

Since living in Hattiesburg, Elmejdoubi has taken it upon himself to recognize young running talent and train them to become highly competitive athletes. As of right now, he trains 20 athletes from all over the state.

The group of kids training under Elmejdoubi, who have names for their club such as "U-Coach" or "The Yousrians," hold practice two to three times a week. While some of the athletes from farther away places such as Meridian or the coast can not make the trip that many times a week, Coach Yousri does have a strict workout for them to follow and meet.

Stephen Stetelman, a senior sprinter for Presbyterian Christian High School's track team, is one member of U-Coach. When speaking of training under Yousri, Stetelman quoted, "Working with Yousri is very intense. I am constantly breaking my personal bests."

Stetelman, who was also a football player for the Bobcats, recently signed with the Mississippi College Choctaws to play football and run track. Stetelman has trained under Elmejdoubi for one year.

Aside from training the runners, Elmejdoubi also enters them into track meets outside of those associated with school. Two weeks ago, he took a group to Lexington, Kentucky, to compete in a nationwide meet. Cory McGee, an eighth grade female runner from Pass Christian who trains under Yousri, was named Most Valuable Runner at the meet.

Logan Waites is another female runner who works out with U-Coach. Along with Stetelman, she has worked with Elmejdoubi for one year. Waites, a sophomore member of Presbyterian Christian's track team, believes that working with Yousri is a great way to become a competitive runner.

"Yousri gives confidence to each of his runners," Waites said. "This is really important when competing in any meet, big or small."

Developing kids into effective competitors is precisely Elmejdoubi's goal. With intense workouts building on strength, speed, and agility, it is no surprise that all of his athletes have become tough competitors.

When asked about his workouts, Elmejdoubi commented, "I look for dedicated kids who really want to succeed. When they are with me, they are working hard. They know I'm not there to baby-sit them."