I was totally gobsmacked by the quality of the new Scotstoun facility last week: what athlete wouldn't be inspired training in these surroundings on a regular basis. The comparison with what we (don't) have is stark. And there seems to be no hope of a track and field facility in Clydebank for at least another twelve months (ie not before 2011). The field events facility at Postie's is good and we could really do something with it were we to have access to it as and when we needed it. Unfortunately we are are at the mercy of a club which seems to have no ambitions for adult athletics: they stop training at 7:30 when most clubs are starting. Any working man or woman has to get home, eat something, no matter how little, change and get to the facility. To do this and be there in time for a session starting at 6:30 is virtually impossible. Unless we can get some co-operation on later hours then this is not a suitable facility.
So with no T&F facility we can either use Glasgow's all the time and struggle with VPAAC, Giffnock North and the rest for access to the jumps and throws. Or we can do a Cambuslang and swear off everything but running events. Become a running club rather than an athletic club. After all, they seem to do OK and have runners in all age groups and were the first club in Glasgow to get the Clubmark award. Is it an idea?
I remember a coversation with Tommy Boyle in the very early 90's about starting up club development. We agreed that you start with running because uou can develop top class athletes with minimum facilities and in some cases track training can damage a young athlete. Then you develop the throws section for the same reason: you can coach throws in playing fields or farmers' fields. And finally you go for the jumps because you DO need expensive facilities for that.
The above argument was deliberately provocative. I'm determined to get some interaction on this blog one way or the other. My position will be on the next one! Let's have your comments!
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
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3 comments:
We do not have the facilities or the member numbers to sustain a club which provides for all aspects of athletics. I think we need to concentrate on what the majority of our members compete in and try to build from there.
We have a small junior T & F group with Donald & Phil doing a great job keeping them motivated. We don't however have many/any juniors who come through to senior level so perhaps we need to forget about the senior T & F until we can bring a good group through from junior to senior level and at the same time get some help for Donald to build this part of the club. We need to try to do this for whenever we get the track at St Peters opened and in use.
This training facility will also (hopefully?) give the club a base it has been lacking for a number of years and let all areas of the club have a one venue to train from and allow the club to grow.
I'm just going to step in and present an argument on behalf of myself and others in the club whom I suspect may reach the realm of senior Track and Field.
To "forget about the senior T & F" would be an inadmissible mistake. Such an action would only serve to alienate that section of the club and possibly stint the growth of the successful Junior section we currently have if they know by the time they are old enough to run in the senior athletics the club will say; "we have nothing else to offer you, we don't do senior Track and Field".
I think a prime example of what I am trying to say is at the moment we have a team in the Senior Mens League which is comprised of mostly under 20 athletes with maybe 4 or 5 'senior athletes'. Remembering my first time as an under 17 running at that particular event, we had maybe half of that. As far as I am concerned that is growth. Compare this to the Senior Woman's track and field section... Non-existant. I don't know why this is the case but Brian has told me on many an occasion that the Female Track and Field section used to be fairly strong.
I suppose my point is this: if you simply "forget about the senior T & F", athletes will find somewhere else that can cater for them and you lose what we currently have, a growing section of the club.
Johnathan
Sorry i missed this blog but i have many fond memories of traveling to young athlete league matches with derek mcGinley and only being a small handfull of athletes. Then as i got older i started in the senior mens team in the 90s with only a hand full of athletes again with no real field athletes, in fact i can remember a senior athlete trying the triple jump and not reaching the sand pit - it still makes me smile. Then the track and field team got stronger and stronger. So bearing this in mind stop being DAFT and enter every compitition possible and if its only 6 athletes turning up GOOD hope they have as good a memories as i have and thank the people who made it possible CLYDESDALE HARRIERS.
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