Trackspeed1-UK Head Coach John Powell has announced significant but exciting changes to the squad for when training begins for the 2018-19 winter period, but has also spoken out on how he almost put away his stop watches this summer. The 2018-19 set-up for Trackspeed1-UK includes:
- Daytime sessions based on morning 10am starts;
- Trackside therapy;
- Heavily discounted track access;
- Consultant advice on nutrition, strength & conditioning based both in the USA and at home;
- Top level physiotherapy at 50% if/when needed;
- Full written training plans;
- Free access to all track equipment;
- 6 weeks' pre-season training in Florida.
John writes...
It was an amazing period - from when I divorced myself from youth team management in 1993, right up to the 2012 London Olympic Games. I travelled the world following my athletes - European or World Junior Championships almost every year, and eventually some European and World senior Championships. And of course the Olympic Games in Athens and London. It was my life, it was so addictive. Watching my athletes progress and succeed was a buzz beyond all other. I used every day of my work annual leave allocation (and some!), remortgaged my house and took out loans to finance my travels, and supported my athletes in every way I knew of on and off the track.
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| John Powell has reshaped his coaching routine heading into 2019 |
Even the frustrations of building an athlete from grass roots up to international calibre, only to watch them move away (and in most cases fail to improve), didn't really deter me. I did have a blip in 2005, but then in came a great new bunch of sprinters and the love was reborn. Travels took me to and from the States, to South Korea, Russia, Singapore, Italy, Lithuania, and heaven knows how many other obscure corners of the world. I met some amazing people, some of whom I'm still in touch with. My athletes won European Championship gold medals, a World Students gold, three medals in one European Junior Championships, European Youth Olympics titles, you name it.
Then came the exodus.
Athletes were either poached or left the group having been persuaded the grass was greener somewhere else. Others left as a result seeing the fall in standards as their cue to look elsewhere. Whilst a couple of talents remained - for a while - the glory days had faded, and any interest from the powers that be in the sport instantly evaporated.
The years following 2012 were difficult, although we did produce some talents, but again they were ultimately attracted elsewhere. The level of performance in the squad plummeted - and so did the coach's motivation! So many senior names had been knocking at the door in 2012 such was the squad's success level. I was even interviewed for Charles Van Commenee's post. Now all this was but a distant memory. Even The Queen didn't have any influence when we met in 2013!
The point is, I've always been an ambitious, and this coaching gig was going really well in the noughties (2000 on...) with involvement in national teams boosting the CV despite still holding a full time job off track. (I'm one of those strange people who still thinks to have anything to do with representing your country is a huge honour!) But as the athletes migrated, so did the apparent interest from those on high. We had produced some serious talent over the years, but that didn't seem to count any more. Constant reassurance that there remained respect for our set-up was constantly ignored when it came to selection of coaches for national teams. It had to be full time staff, one was told. Strange that so many appointments have been made in recent years with no apparent advertising (assuming they really are UKA staff!) The teeth kicking continued too with the offer of fast track coach qualifications for international athletes. Support / reward for existing coaches? Don't be silly.
The point is, I've always been an ambitious, and this coaching gig was going really well in the noughties (2000 on...) with involvement in national teams boosting the CV despite still holding a full time job off track. (I'm one of those strange people who still thinks to have anything to do with representing your country is a huge honour!) But as the athletes migrated, so did the apparent interest from those on high. We had produced some serious talent over the years, but that didn't seem to count any more. Constant reassurance that there remained respect for our set-up was constantly ignored when it came to selection of coaches for national teams. It had to be full time staff, one was told. Strange that so many appointments have been made in recent years with no apparent advertising (assuming they really are UKA staff!) The teeth kicking continued too with the offer of fast track coach qualifications for international athletes. Support / reward for existing coaches? Don't be silly.
The 2017/18 winter was my toughest, and for a long time I was praying for July when I would finally retire from the sport that has been my life for 45 years - 42 as a coach. That has changed with a few close friends counselling the idea of daytime coaching and a radical reshape of the group. I'm already excited about the coming new training year. We may not have any superstars in the group (yet?!), but we certainly have some potential, so we'll see how we go into 2019. If it is to be my final 12 months with clip board and stop watch, then so be it - at least I gave it one last real try!
It's especially frustrating though - at one point I honestly thought I had created something pretty special, but it seems that athletes - and some coaches - are extremely selfish people. I have told my athletes many times that so many years of holding a stop watch does not make one a good coach, and you should only ever be judged on results. The squad continue to PB in most cases, so I guess I'm getting something right, but maybe operating at the level I aspired to for so long simply wasn't meant to be. Sometimes life sucks!
John Powell MBE is a level 4 coach in speed and level 3 in jumps and hurdles, and he has worked with coaches or created links with coaching staff all over the world including Harvard University, University of Virginia, and the Institute of Sport for New South Wales, Australia. His CV is attached on the Trackspeed1-UK website.
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