Coaches Corner

There was a good night for Irish 4 x 400 relay running on Wednesday night when both u20 teams qualified for this summer's European u20 Championship in Italy. The women's team qualified and broke the Irish record. That was achieved without the #1 and #2 ranked athletes (at the time) who were unavailable. The quartet of Ciara Deely, Ellie O'Toole, Nicole King and Davicia Patterson guided by their team coach, David McCarthy, acquitted themselves very well. Nicole King in particular ran a 55.28 split (using Dartfish), excellent considering her PB is 56.47. Two key components to a strong relay programme are strength in depth and athletes who always seem to run well when given a baton. The last Irish relay team to qualify for an Olympics (and only the 4th ever) was the women's 4 x 400 team in London 2012 and they had depth and excellent relay runners. Granted they had a 'once in a generation' in Joanne Cuddihy to spearhead it all but it was a great team. The Clas...

What a phenomenal day of athletics in Tullamore yesterday at the Irish Schools. It seems to be a regular occurrence in recent years. It is evidence the athlete talent is there. It is evidence the coaching talent is there. But the amazing talent who have competed in their last schools competition will now enter the most critical phase of their careers that will define whether their dreams are realised or not. Our official coaching framework is letting these athletes down in that key phase of their career. It is letting the coaches, who have developed them, down. The most critical years for our athletes are their collegiate years. This is where the wheels will usually come off if they are going to come off. A whole new world. Away from home in many cases. New temptations, new pressures. Their normal support circle has disappeared. A huge void can appear. Of course there will be athletes who will thrive despite this neglect and you could argue that it's that resilience that make...