Despite having just completed an outdoor season which by his own admission was "rather disappointing", sprinter Xavier James is looking forward to the next few months with enthusiasm as he focuses on next year's summer Olympics in Greece.

While James might have been forgiven for feeling discouraged after his performance at the World University Games in South Korea and an even less inspiring showing at the Pan American Games in the Dominican Republic, the Bermudian says he isn't about to hang up his spikes.

"The past season has been different you could say, it's like I took ten steps backwards," said James. "But I guess that's what happens in track and field . . . you try to do things and they don't work out for you but you still have to persevere.

"But I'm not in the least discouraged. I will take a break from competitive track now because the outdoor season has finished, but that doesn't mean I will not be preparing for next year because I intend to work out on the hills and beaches during the next two months to get ready for track work in December."

The 27-year-old will be restricted in his future endeavours because of his role as a physical education teacher, but he intends to squeeze in a few meets when the indoor season begins in the New Year.

Although nothing has been confirmed, James has his eyes on events in Toronto and Montreal, some of which he competed in earlier this year.

"I am going to try to get to a few winter meets and concentrate on the 400 metres and 60 metres, not even touch the 200 metres and 100 metres, which are my specialities," he said.

"I will be using the 400 metres for strengthening and the 60 metres for getting my start and speed down to perfection because that needs to be practised all of the time."

After that James will concentrate on his main mission which is to qualify for the Olympics although he has still not been made aware of the qualifying times for the 100 and 200 metres.

Much of his training will take place in the USA and Canada and one thing he hopes to do this time around is avoid participating in both sprint races at major events.

"As of now I think it will be best to concentrate on one even if I manage to qualify in both for the Olympics.

"I have discovered that it is a lot of work to run both races. Running so many challenging heats and then entering the semi-finals and finals over a short period of time simply takes too much out of you."