DYNAMICS OF SPORT COACHING

Great athletes, such as the fastest man in the world, Usain Bolt, attract and inspire children everywhere to take up athletics, but there are growing concerns regarding how gifted athletes in the UK at grass roots levels are being guided and developed. There is little in the way of support for sports science and sports medicine for most modern athletics teams outside the “elite” umbrella, so despite dreaming of Olympic glory, these gifted few may “fall short” of their dreams. The question is, are we, as practitioners in sports medicine, failing them?

FALLING SHORT: IS THERE A PROBLEM WITH GRASS ROOTS ATHLETICS THAT WIDENS THE GAP BETWEEN THE GIFTED AND THE GREAT?

BY MIKE CAROLAN, SPORTS REHABILITATOR

INTRODUCTION I first fell in love with athletics when I was 10 years old, as I watched Linford Christie cross the line in the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, running 9.96 seconds in the 100-metre Olympic final, winning gold and beating Frankie Fredericks – one of the modern greats in the sport. Many years later Michael Johnson was my inspiration, destroying the 200-metre world record in the 1996 Atlanta Olympic final, running 19.32 seconds, which until recently was the quickest time over that distance that no athlete was even close to attaining – let alone breaking. Fast-forward another 10 years and a young Jamaican man laid waste to every record and every well-conceived idea about how to run and about who should compete in the 100- and 200-metre sprint events. Usain Bolt now inspires and attracts children to the sport, just like Linford hooked me, running a phenomenal 9.58 seconds and 19.19 seconds over the 100- and 200-metres, respectively. After a short break following my graduation I returned to the sport for

the joy of competing and a new-found love for the training and lifestyle it offered. I was greatly enthused by the excitement Bolt brings to the sport. He just loves to compete and seems to have no fear. My professional background and

training gives me cause for concern regarding the athletes in the UK at the grass root level, and more specifically how they are being guided and developed. There is an obvious structure at this level, for instance all clubs have coaches, some specialise in specific disciplines (while others do not), and the levels function from 1 to 4 with those at Level 1 needing to be supervised by someone at Level 2 or above. This provides young people with the chance to gain some qualifications and it offers modern athletics clubs a degree of longevity and permits the passing of mantles to a younger generation of coaches. So where in particular do my

concerns lie?

SUPPORT AND AWARENESS OF SPORTS SCIENCE It is true that there is little in the way of support for sports science and sports

THERE IS LITTLE SUPPORT FOR SPORTS SCIENCE OUTSIDE OF THE “ELITE” UMBRELLA

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