Where To Now?

I thought that it might be right to have a wee look into the crystal ball and see what the future might hold for the club. Strathclyde Regional Council dealt the club quite a blow when they turfed us and all the other users off the track at Whitecrook in the early 90's. It is still the only eight lane, 400 metre track in East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire or Argyll and Bute. The drains still function and it is being used for the Star Track scheme in the last week in July. I won't go into the (cash driven) eviction here but the effects are still being felt in terms of recruitment, in terms of having a venue where the whole club can train and so on. There will be a six lane 400 metre track at the new St Peter the Apostle School and we should have access to it: politicians and officials at the local authority level have been contacted and they all know we exist and want on to it. Will we be ready to use it to maximum advantage? Last year the Committee discussed the poor recruitment level for senior athletes, will the new venue help that scene?

The young ones first. We now have coaches for high jump and long jump. Paul Doherty is a former Scottish Schools and age group internationalist with medals at national level and is coaching high jumpers. Donna Campbell is a former third placer in the Scottish age group 100 metres and tenth in the GB rankings for the event and is coaching long jump. Bobby Bell is the best throws coach we have ever had and he is now coaching on Mondays at Postie's Park. If you add in Phil Dolan's group of endurance runners and Donald Macleod's work with sprinters then there is a team ready to take full advantage of the new school's facilities. In terms of competition, we will still be in the Scottish Young Athletes League and Phil has plans to enter the Central and South of Scotland League from 2010 and there is the possibility of moving into the Senior Men's team for the Boys.

The Senior Team is a good example of the problems that will have to be faced up to. At present the runners (with two second claim men added) are performing well and the jumps look like being quite successful. The difficulties are with the throws and the distance runners. Throwers will have to be recruited. We have Bobby Bell doing good work with them just now but there are not enough of them. We are working on that and hope to have developments by next summer. The endurance runners are more problematical.

In the past this has been the main strength of the club's track team. Now, for some reason, although we have over 20 men in the club's winter and summer leagues, it is the Devil's own job getting them to turn out for the club. I don't understand it. Two things: (1) I was brought up in the club to do what the club needs you to do. It makes no difference to today's Senior Men that the club needs them to run in track events three times in the year. (2) Those who talk about these things reckon that distance runners are better if they tackle all branches of endurance running. The phrase 'a complete distance runner' is used by Martin Hyman at Livingston. Yet we have seniors who are not happy unless the number is ten and the letter is K. There are more distance runers in the club than in any other group and yet we are shorter of them in track events - and in cross country championships - than we are in any other branch of the sport.

It will probably sort itself out next year when we are all in the same accommodation at the same venue. I am assuming that the distance runners will relocate to the more central venue on the Boulevard. Some won't want to move - that's inevitable - but if the club committee takes the decision to move then that's what happens. All in all I'm quite hopeful for the future.