3 key people to get your athlete to Rio Olympics

Posted On Wednesday, 15th August 2012 at 08:41

Get your athlete to the Rio Olympics

There is a lot of hoopla about the post Olympics legacy. Some of the commentators like Darren Campbell and Tanni Grey Thompson talk sense.

Others, from a more privileged background, seem to think that it is just about doing competitive sport at school (One director of sport of a school that charges £30,000 a year said "it is about creating opportunity"!)

In the real world, I think that there are 3 key people in every young athlete's life:

1 Parents: supportive, either emotionally (cuddles), logistically (taxi and food) or financially (kit, food, entrance fees)

2 P.E. teachers: someone who helps the child become enthused, and teaches them how to run, jump,skip, throw and catch. (Unfortunately this is a declining skill in the UK, mainly due tothe PE staff being filled with sports science graduates, rather than Physical Education specialists).

3 Coaches: the life blood of sport in this country, mostly volunteer and part time. There are great coaches working at all levels of sport, at all ages. Recognition of the coach who works at their local club and inspires the kids with great coaching is overdue.

Without these 3 people, there will be no Olympic legacy. I see my role as a Coach and Coach educator, not only to help the athletes I train, but to work in conjunction with parents, PE teachers and coaches and help them to the best of my ability.

If you are thinking of competing in Rio, then you are probably 2 years into a senior training cycle already. If you want to compete in 2020, then you are probably 13-15 years old and competing in a few different sports.

How I can help

I got asked recently "what are you doing to help grassroots sports?"

Here's how.

My target is to help the 3 key people, so as a Parent, PE teacher, or sports coach you can:

• Access our Free newsletter, blog and resources here
• Buy a copy of "Training Young Athletes" book here (practical resource)
• Come to a coach workshop on training young athletes here
• Join the Sports Training System here and get a 12 month training programme designed for young athletes who want the right advice for them.

Facilities are important, but let's not think that you just have to go to an expensive school to get good at sport.

Let's work together to inspire and support the Parents, PE teachers and coaches who then look after the athletes.