you know all this talk about UK athletics but i think there probably in better shape then canada, we’re a fricking joke rite now. Not even 1 medal in athletics discracefull. THE RELAY TEAMS CAN’T EVEN MAKE IT THERE OR THE FINALS!!
There was an article in the Canadian newspaper, the Globe and Mail, on Nov. 19, that said, "Coaches meet to learn from Athens. Barry Shepley, the coach of Simon Whitfield is quoted: “You have to monitor the fatigue and the regeneration… The guy who was the best in the world at this, like it or not, was Charlie Francis. He could listen to the beat of his runners going by and know if he had to pull them back.”
Thankfully, we have a number of local Canadian coaches attending the workshop this weekend. We should have more there, but at least it’s a start.
Well we may be at the moment, but you’ve got the one person who can dig you out of a mess-charlie! I look around the UK and i’m failing to see anyone who’s not too caught up in the politics of the sport to actually make a difference to the people who matter-the athletes! Give the UK 4-5 years and we’ll be in a right mess!!!
hope you are proved wrong, but the way things are and going… not much of a hope…
Quality! that’s what’s missing! and communication; put the lack of these two together and you have the worse case scenario…
hundreds of mini-me-Charlies; that’s the solution though! LOL
I got the impression a while back that Dave Moorcroft and his cronies haven’t got a scooby doo (scooby doo=“clue” to those who don’t know cockney rhyming slang) what the bloody hell it is they’re doing and where they want British Athletics to be in 5 minutes time, let alone 5 years time! Sounds like the current British Government actually…
I think the real problem lies in the volunteers??? that run the sport on a more regional level. They’ve got so stuck in their ways they’re resistant to change; to me the only way round this is to kick out the volunteers and create a fully paid positions (like Scotland do). At least that way the communication would surely improve between UKA, AAA and the English regions. Damn the Uk’s in a mess… 
While the professionalization of coaching is a laudable goal, that alone is no guarantee that what is being taught is, in fact, correct, or that the professionals are doing a better job than the volunteers. You need look no further than the many professional positions in the American NCAA. Some have good programs, while the majority do not.
With professionalism must come accountability, program review, and technical support.
By program review, I mean, not only the submission of an annual plan, but regular and random observation of workouts on the track.
although it might improve things a bit, i don’t think that this is necessarily the answer; after all, if it wasn’t for them (i.e., volunteers), perhaps UK athletics would have been in a greater mess, i think; moreover, there are many “wise” guys that are paid and look professional in what they are doing and they are delivering nothing…
better focus and planning of things, both short and long term for each level (from young talents to L4 coaches) would be a good start; and this again and i insist, comes through communication, not avoiding talking about things because you want to do it your way no matter what… talk to others, ask them why they are doing certain things and you might learn something, or you might feel you can suggest something and contribute; they might take it the wrong way, but at least you are doing your bit and you become better and gain others’ respect…
communication and lack of apathy is the key for me!
LOL! random observation of workouts! that would be interesting! and the post-workout response would be “right, what level are you at again?”
seriously though, with good feedback on the spot, this would improve things dramatically -especially if the workout was not knowingly observed…
Agreed. But the chances of this happening are???
don’t spoil things! it’s nice to dream about something sometimes…