Athletics Weekly

..me too Eddiscad..!

The executive summary really focusses on the management of the delivery mechanism but there are one or two criticisms of the content if you read it closely. I think we first need to ask ourselves: "What is the purpose of Coach Education?". In my opinion it should have, as its core objectiv...

Thank you - although I'm still correcting the english..

(the language not the nation..!)

Geoff - you make a good point and it is the behaviour of our volunteer workforce which elicits within me some sympathy for the plight of any person charged with being a coach educator. For improvement in any activity requires, first of all, that an individual genuinely desires to improve upon what t...

The nationality of any NGB Head Coach is but a small part of the equation and it would be foolish to focus too much attention on this aspect. In any organisation it is usually quite healthy to bring in people with an external perspective. It's worthwhile remembering that, in the past, many of the UK...

I'm glad it wasn't just me!

Thanks for joining in Helen - He's done a remarkable job and fully deserves to be recognised.

As you say, it's not just the "headline act" of Holly but the others whom he has taken from lowly heights that really mark out the calibre of his work.

Long may it continue.

I'm sure that we can all echo the sentiments aired by many of the fans who have contributed to this thread, this young lady's achievement is very inspiring. But for curious coaches it should raise a few questions - how is it possible for one coach to propel a kid from 2.00m in 2008 to a World leadin...

With the greatest of respect to many of the posters and in acknowledgement of Hank's last comment, this thread is drifting further and further away from the subject. There is a lot of interaction between the various aspects of our sport, naturally, but given that the subject here is coaching then we...

I think I see what you're getting at Fangio..a couple of names come to mind though; Denise Lewis ?Kelly Sotherton? Wasn't Daniel Caines a Birchfield "product"? Of course the point is that these athletes and others like them, were brought "up to standard" by individual coaches, Da...

PJS - DJ has dealt with the hair "issue" that you raised - basically these kids aren't moving fast enough for it to be an issue. On the subject of "form" though, what exactly do you mean? Do you mean that she "looked good" while she was running? It's all about the stopw...

Sidelined/Geoff - for the most part athletics clubs (or more accurately the coaches within them) have proven themselves utterly unwilling to learn or operate outside of their comfort zone. You can put on any number of roadshows/coaching workshops/whatever and the minute the show is over, all the les...

I fully agree with the general thrust of this discussion, it's heartening to read some of the posts. Observer - I believe that you have made some excellent points. I would however make the following observations: Clubs have, for decades, proven themselves entirely useless at implementing coaching sc...

I think that the point about paying hitherto voluntary coaches has been well made - I do however see a problem that needs to be addressed... How does paying for coaching improve the quality of that which is done? The likelihood of an awful lot of the coaching that I see ever helping athletes towards...

Au contraire mon ami.....! And what a magnificent job he is doing

With the greatest of respect Gruffalo, I don't believe that is a fair reflection on the quality of British coaches. Just "being foreign" doesn't bestow greater coaching ability on an individual - I'm sure that is not what you meant? Bruce Longden, Malcolm Arnold, John Anderson, Wilf Paish,...

Well I am obviously (thankfully?) isolated from this type of people or have learned to filter them out! The only people I come into contact with are either those with massive experience who air their criticisms at the same time as they proffer solutions, or the people who just accept whatever is pre...

I know this will do me no favours, but perhaps if people actually got behind the plans it might actually work. Maybe it is the bickering and stubborness that stops these ideas working not the validity of the ideas themselves. Which parts are not working? I recently saw a weekend gathering in Birmin...

BG/Steve - I think you have both made some interesting points. On the subject of speaking to Seb about m/d training - I'm sure that he could tell you what he did, which may be illuminating in some way but he won't really be able to tell you why he did it - he's no coach and has no track record in co...

It's a good question Steve. For my money it highlights a big issue amongst the coaching fraternity - nobody is prepared to listen to those coaches who have done "the hard yards" in the past. I see it everywhere and every day. A lot of people/coaches(?) on this forum for instance, are happy...

Hank, RS10, SRB, Geoff and others.. "...focussing on process as well as outcome.." "...technical expectations higher at each level..." IF I had had no exposure to the world of youth athletics then these would strike me as fine, academically sound phrases. But..dig a little deeper...

SteveK26 - No, definitely not Steve Backley.

Geoff, maybe if the governing body has proved itself incapable of producing good quality coaching materials, those with the necessary experience, enthusiasm and expertise should do it themselves. In these days of electronic publishing it's not expensive - except it terms of time and effort, that is...

"Kelly Sotherton: I don't want to get to 60 and think 'if only'" http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/nov/14/kelly-sotherton-london-2012-olympics?CMP=twt_gu" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Sometimes it's a good idea just to shut up, lay off the twitter and get on with it Ke...

Kermit - You've not really acknowledged the point that I was trying to make, which was that we in the UK have already been presented with many, many opportunities to learn from good coaches, both home-grown and from abroad. A global athletics championship will not offer appreciably more chances for ...

"More opportunities for coaches to go speak to their peers at lectures, conferences and workshops with reduced traveling costs..." I don't want to be too dour about the whole thing but I think you're rather overplaying this Kermit. The past few years has seen an unprecedented number of hig...

Several of my friends have enough EPO in their fridges to earn more £50,000 on the black market. If tested they would be so far above the limit that the highly sensitive testing equipment would probably malfunction! Why do they have all that EPO? Is it being fed out to athletes? Are they running maj...

I'm not convinced that many people are grasping the points that Alan and Tom have made. My interpretation is this: Any child who turns up at an athletics club has done so principally because they want to "have a go" at athletics. We, as coaches, should be able to give them an experience of...

Ursus - absolutely spot on - I couldn't have put it better myself. Hank - Alan hasn't lived in the UK for many years but comes back here to deliver lectures and coaching clinics. He is not seeking any kind of role with EA or any NGB. He has been engaged for some years in the process of writing a num...

Sam - I'm not entirely sure about the point you're trying to make?

"Old has beens" is a rather disrespectful term though..