These are the 3 rules that I set out for every aspiring Excelsior athlete who wants to be a member of our Athletic Development Club in Devon.
You may well think that these are too simple or that everyone does these already. I have found that my Talent id process works quite well within 3-4 sessions.
Turn Up: Woody Allen said that “80% of success is just showing up”. There is a lot to be said for that. Who trains week in, week out? Our best athletes turn up about 8 times for every parental contact I have. Our worst turn up once for every 8 times the parent contacts me!
Torzie post fractured patella
Try Hard:Listen to the coaching cues, persist when things fail to work out perfectly the first time you attempt them. A lot of “talented” athletes are just well rehearsed at drills, throw something new into the mix and a lot quit after one attempt.
Stand Tall: No slouching! It reinforces poor posture. Excelsior athletes stand tall because of their correct posture, but also because they have built self confidence by adhering to rules 1 & 2.
Dedication + Effort = Confidence
Over the last 3 months I have been tracking the attendance closely. It has been very revealing to me as a coach.
This Autumn we shall be rewarding those who attend most. My focus shall be on helping these athletes more and spending less time with the “squeaky wheel” parents who distract from the “forgotten middle” of young people who are quietly getting on with the job.
Here is an overview of what is happening at Excelsior Athletic Development Club over the next 2 months, including news of 4 athletes I have coached who are competing in the Olympics. I have included links to timetables to when to watch our 3 main sports on TV.
Athletics
Training continues every Thursday from 11th August until 1st September, with our team competing on 30th August.
It is great to see the progress made, especially with the throws and jumps. What is more important, is that the practice transferred to a recent competition at the Exeter Arena.
Thanks to all our lifters who continued to train around their busy exam schedules. We have also recently welcomed some new, younger, lifters who have impressed with their work ethic.
Lifters and volunteers
These dedicated few will be training throughout August on Monday nights. We shall also be travelling to Crystal Palace National Sports Centre to train with National Coach Keith Morgan for a special workshop.
Here is the Olympics Weightlifting Schedule (Watch out for Devonian Sonny Webster who trained alongside James at Ivybridge for several years. They even competed against each other once!)
Gymnastics
The gymnasts are enjoying a well deserved break over the Summer. They finished up the term with a great display of vaulting, using the new kit we have purchased:
The big news for us is that we are moving venues from September and opening a Satellite venue in Wellington. We shall be using the Willand Village Hall which has a sprung floor. We have also raised nearly £9ooo to buy new kit since the club opened in September which we can use with the bigger space.
We shall be raising more funds on Sunday 14th August by packing bags for customers at Tesco’s in Cullompton.
We shall be running Freestyle Gymnastics (FreeG) twice a month in Willand, and weekly in Wellington from September. This is a great new style and is especially popular with teenage boys. James is qualified to coach this, and recently went on a refresher course. This video gives an idea of what it entails:
We shall be having a sign up and taster session in Willand on Saturday 3rd September in the morning.
Here are 3 more athletes who I have coached and who are competing in Rio, good luck to them all.
Modern Pentathlon: Arthur Lanigan O’ Keeffe is competing in his second Olympics for Ireland. Arthur is a very strong athlete, mentally and physically.
Hockey: Maddie Hinch is the GB goalkeeper. A real determined young lady when I coached her, worked extremely hard.
Wheelchair Basketball: Judith Hamer (from Exeter) is probably the most improved player and opened up our Club a few years ago. It is a true delight to see her develop and flourish as a person.
I hope everyone has a great summer, thanks for your continued support.
Here is a summary of Club activity and important information for all Club members. You can skip to your relevant heading for details of upcoming training, but you might also like to see how other members are progressing.
Thanks very much to everyone who has been helping out with ideas, suggestions and ferrying children around. It is especially gratifying to hear from 3rd parties how well our athletes are doing on camps and in competition.
The Sports Performance Workshop in Willand yesterday was probably the most enjoyable workshop I have ever run. Great input from all the athletes involved. Next one is on 1st June.
The Club raffle raised £95.30 in total, £30 for the weightlifters, £65.30 for the gymnasts. Thanks to all who bought tickets and donated prizes. Thankt for all the Sainsbury’s Active Kids vouchers too.
The club display can be seen here:
Gymnastics.
Training resumes on Tuesday 12th April from 16:30-17:30 for KS1 and from 17:30-18:30 for KS2. We shall not be training on June 14th (I am away) or June 21st (Willand school sports day, kids always tired afterwards) or July 19th (last week of term, ditto).
Please pay your termly dues of £40 by Bacs or cheque payable to “Excelsior Athletic Development Club”.
New crash mat
We have ordered a new crash mat which should arrive in 2-3 weeks’ time from the USA. Thanks to Dan Ware for the kind donation.
We are about £35 short of being able to buy another mat thanks to the raffle and those who have used easyfundraising.
We have secured funding from British Gymnastics to buy a 6 metre inflatable tumble track and a red box to help our satellite venue at Courtfields School in Wellington. This kit will be able to be used in Willand too.
New tumble track
We are currently waiting on 2 other bids to buy other bits of kit. All of this is done to help create a more challenging and safe environment for the young gymnasts.
Starting a club from nothing is extremely hard work, and costs time and money. Thanks again to everyone who has supported our efforts in word or deed.
Weightlifting
Training resumes on Monday 11th April from 1800-1900 and from 1900-2000, also Wednesday 13th April from 1800-1900. Due to exam commitments, we have spaces available in these sessions.
Please pay £28 by BACS or cash to confirm your place. Please let me know if you are/aren’t coming or if you have a friend/ team mate who wants to learn how to weightlift.
New biscuits & buffer
Thanks to the raffle and those members who have used easyfundraising, we have managed to buy some new kit for the Club.
I have bought 2 new wooden technique disks, a year’s supply of chalk, and a set of coloured “biscuits”. This will allow you to adjust your weights in small increments.
Thanks to Matt Collier, we have also built a buffer round the gas pipe, which means we can use the squat rack off the 2nd platform and gives you more space to lift.
We will hold our Summer competition on Monday 18th July.
Athletics
New racing kit
Sunday saw the launch of our new racing kit, and our first entry as a club to an official athletics competition. Well done to Josie and Milly for their 100m races and long jump in atrocious conditions.
Our track training session went well, and we will do intermittent ones on starts and take off techniques into the pit throughout the season.
Speed training resumes on Thursday 21st April in Willand from 18:30-19:30 and costs £4 per session.
Our middle distance sessions continue on Wednesday nights from 1930-20:30 with the target of BMC and a relay event for the club to enter.
Sarah’s Improver’s running session continues on Monday nights, with many of the participants doing Park Runs and Charity Runs for fun.
I am hoping to start Junior Athletics for 10-12 years olds in Willand on Mondays, so please share this information with any interested juniors.
Summary
Issy and Josie
The underlying ethos of our club is to develop the Long Term Athleticism of our members. From our youngest gymnast, to our oldest runner, we want safe, effective and expert training. Most importantly, we want the members to enjoy the challenge and process too.
