Question for $5: John Smith Vs Colin Jackson…huunnn let me see… Can I call a friend?
Straight from the press box to starting block. Is UKA going to do something as they have stated you need to have coaching qualification to coach a lottery athlete.
Can anyone confirm if Colin is qualified? Its a joke, suddenly he gets sponsorship in Wales and he suddenly wants to give something back to sport. But he also clearly states that he only want to coach a BIG name not a NOBODY. What a cheek? Need I forget Balch trained with him (while C J was still an athlete) amd ran 45.2 or 44.8 before Linford “snatched” him and he went downhill.
All this where UKA have got atleast 4 coaches they are paying Full time to coach and they have no athlete to coach and Colin picks up 2 Benjamin and Rhy Williams. Collins and Thrower should be flogged in a public place with a wet sock. What a mess.
Bad choice in my opinion. CJ always seems too preoccupied dancing, presenting (TV, radio), family hunting etc etc. CJ questions and answers on the BBC seemed lacking in my opinion - eating his humble pie many times after MJ set him straight.
If he coaches the way he comments, god help tim/Rhy.
It just a shame that UKA didt extend their powers of forcing athletes to train with certain coaches in this case. Colin can just pick 2 of the country "potential " medalist up like that. Jee
Collins already forced most athletes to sign a contract which forces them to shut up or get cut off funding. Paula Radclife didn’t sign and has now probably finished Collins off in the papers.
The pressure was put on Benjamin to get out of HSI with no real plan on where he should go instead. What a mess!
Keep your family jewels locked up at home so you watch closely over them at all times but risk never giving them a chance to get out there where the action is. It’s a very English story but these guys are Welsh!
the difference with paula vs the other athletes is that paula has $$$$$$.she could stand up and fight.appearence fees alone for the london marathon alone where great!
Couple of weeks ago he was on a program trying to find out about his ancestry - family roots etc. Coaching should be a full time profession esp at that level - I wonder if he has too many fingers in other pies?
Its even scarier that someone who displayed such lack of knowledge on national television can lure two good athletes away from their coaches. It doesn’t say too much for their options in this country.
A coach is many things to many people, but surely among the definitions primarily as it concerns athletics is “a wise person whose wisdom at least in part is specific to the sport he wants to coach” (wisdom = experience+knowledge).
Colin may not know 400m but if he has the desire, he can learn soon enough. I watched seen him time trial 300 in low 32sec so he has a sense of what the 400m specialist must go through; he has seen what Jamies Baulch and dozens of other even better 400m runners have done in training and no doubt he can pick up a phone and call any number of “experts”.
He also understands commitment and the balance between intensity and enjoyment needed in day to day training. That is a prerequisit to the longevity of the athlete and of the athlete-coach relationship.
Whether he himself has the patience to stay the course when his proteges inevitably plateau or lose some races or are injured will be Colin’s biggest test.
I suspect he may recruit a knowleagable local 400m coach (or former 400m competitor) and enter into a collaboration, which may be a good thing all round.
I can’t criticise him for putting up his hand in an offer to help.
Good call KK you are right CJ could make a good coach. If he works half as hard at it as he did learning public speaking or ballroom dancing then he will be a very good coach. My only concern is always where does the athlete fit into the coache’s list of priorities? For me I think that ultimately as coaches we are the limiting factor in our athlete’s development ether cos we are not perceptive enough or that we can’t be around when they need us most.
I think that UKA are weary of athletes going oversease to be coached, because of the Dwayne Chambers saga and Harry Atkins Areyeety connection with Justin Gatlin and Trevor Graham. UKA were criticised for allowing HAA to train with Trevor Graham, and so I think they are now very reluctant to allow any high profile athletes to go abroad.