On to Glasgow (sort of...)

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This weekend Europe's best athletes will descend on Glasgow for the Euro Indoors. An athlete in my squad will be competing Jahisha Thomas in the long jump.

Regular readers of this blog will know that Jash is based in the States for most of the year in Iowa. She has a coach there. With the athlete back in the UK I have been watching sessions and competitions... the British Champs and the recent Birmingham Grand Prix, it's therefore a shame that I won't be able to go and watch her in Glasgow. There are not enough coaches' passes for all individual coaches to gain accreditation. I've had similar experiences at the World Juniors where passes have been in short supply, but where I was able to borrow one in order to watch my athlete compete. It's odd as despite the gravity of a world juniors there are very few actual spectators, so you'd think access would be easier. Obviously with Glasgow being a major continental champs, places for coaches and spectating are going to be much more limited, hence, I guess why few UK individual coaches will be supported/able to watch and help their athletes. National coaches will be on duty as eyes.

Those of you reading this from around the world may be surprised that at this level coaches still need to fund themselves to support their athletes - it's cost me and likewise many other UK coaches thousands of pounds travelling around Europe and the UK to help athletes (that's potentially why track & field is largely a collegiate sport only in the States). Unless you have an athlete on funding and/or who has sponsorship then the coach has to be largely self-funding. Okay, many more of us are beginning to charge small amounts for our regular coaching and I'm also lucky enough to be doing more 'private' coaching work, but in reality, it's not enough for me to cover all my coaching costs and thus I have to work another job which I luckily enjoy as a writer.. 

So, I'll be watching Jahisha on TV this Friday at 10am when the qualifying round unfolds and then, all being well, the final 6pm on Sunday, It should be a great championships!

​Here's my latest COMMUNITY section post from my YouTube Channel. It's worth subscribing so you also get access to this extra content. The video showcases some of the plyometrics we do and also some of Sarah's dancing!