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Arnie's - Thoughts on achieving your goals.
 

I have, at times, been asked by young athletes, "How can I be as good as ........?", referring to whichever Under 17 or Under 20 athlete happens to be the figure of admiration at the time. In order to answer the question for others to whom it may have occurred, I submit the following thoughts. They are purely personal and do not necessarily reflect the views of other coaches or officials at Oswestry Olympians. In fact, they can only directly be applied to athletes who show promise in the events which I coach i.e. high jump, long jump, triple jump and hurdles. They may apply to other events but I can only speak from my own experience.
 
In order to be highly successful, (defined as reaching the English Schools finals or winning the Welsh Schools, or indeed representing your country), a young athlete must have; 1) natural talent, 2) supportive, but not pushy, parents, 3) an ability and willingness to take on increasingly demanding levels of training and 4) a capacity to listen to coaching advice and to incorporate that information into their training. A further advantage, but not essential, is the ability to analyse your own performance and to be able to rationally discuss your own perceptions with your coach while also listening to his/her observations. This ability, of course, develops with time and I would not expect to see it until age 15 or 16.
 
I would dare to suggest that any talented Under 11 athlete who has these four attributes is almost certain to make the English Schools finals as an Under 15 or Under 17, representing Shropshire, provided they are prepared to accept the necessary training, which I will now outline. (Welsh athletes, of course, have their own competition structure).
 
Before outlining the training structure, I would like to point out that the vast majority of young athletes will not reach the levels which I have mentioned, but that should not put them off. They should set their own targets, e.g., getting a personal best at the next competition or even winning a medal at the county championships. Athletics is for everybody, not just the really talented and this training will help anyone get fitter and stronger, improve self-esteem and may even improve academic attainment.
 
The youngsters in my current training group have all, to their great credit, been to the English Schools finals in hurdles, high jump or long jump and have been training three or four days per week for a number of years. Their winter training involves a demanding hour of circuit training on Tuesday evenings, two hours of conditioning, weight training and plyometrics on Thursdays, an hour of uphill running on Saturday mornings and, for high jumpers, a technique session on Fridays.
 
Their commitment to these sessions is total, they hate missing training and at each session they work at their maximum level. It is this sort of determination, which has taken them to high levels of attainment. Training is still an important social occasion but it is also a serious business of improving strength, speed and technique and, for each of them, that is now the priority.
 
From January the training incorporates more speed and less strength and endurance and, whether competing in indoor events or not, more technique work. From Easter onwards training moves out to the track and concentrates much more on speed and technique and is much less demanding. The winter strength provides a great base for developing the skills needed for each of the specific events. From April onwards the target for all the athletes is to improve their performances with each competition and strive to reach the very demanding English Schools entry standard.
 
Over the years I have seen many talented young athletes, train on the track and compete regularly through the summer, and then only appear infrequently through the winter. They then wonder why their performances only improve marginally from one year to the next. They may also be very envious of others who are attaining much higher levels of performance. The link between commitment to winter training and performance the following summer is often not made, and the true potential is not reached.
 
Of course this level of commitment isn't for everyone, and many of our athletes have other hobbies and pastimes which occupy them through the winter. This is fine, but for those who want to be the best that they can be in their chosen athletics event, this advice may be of some assistance in achieving your goals.
 
As a final word; often a young athlete's best event doesn't become obvious until they are 14 or 15 or even older, so for younger athletes it is very important to continue to try a number of events until it becomes clear which one you should specialise in. The winter training outlined above is generic and is beneficial to a range of events but should not be tackled until you are in the Under 15 age group. Circuit training, however, can be started in Year 8.
 
I am always happy to discuss these thoughts further and can be contacted via the website or any other means.
 
Arnie
30/10/2004
 
Do not attempt to do any of these activities without qualified coaching supervision

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