World U20 Championships: “Thanks Coach”

Published Fri 29 Jul 2022

29 July 2022

World U20 Championships: “Thanks Coach”

With just a few days until the World U20 Championships start in Colombia, we reflect on a key person in the team of every athlete – their coach.

The coach is the person who has more interaction with the athlete than probably anyone else in the sport. This humble group people often don’t realise the vital and positive impact they have on the lives of their athletes. We thank them for this.

In this tribute to them, we provide a collection of quotes from some of the World junior athletes about their coaches:

Olivia Inkster - Coaches Mel Gainsford-Taylor & Katie Edwards

“Mel has a beautiful family and shares her athletic knowledge and passion through coaching, bringing up the next generation of athletes. Katie is an amazing coach, and she just gets me, she understands when I need her to be tough, kind or loving. I know that I can tell Katie how I am truly feeling whether that be with sports or academics, which is very much a quality that I cherish. I know that Katie will always do what's best for me and that she cherishes my opinions and takes everything into account when making decisions regarding me. I am so very lucky to have Katie and Mel in my life.”

Laura Roderick – coaches Jordan and Warren Williams

”Both of them respect me as a person, so understand that there are some things I value higher than running and won’t sacrifice. Instead, we work together to adapt my program so that I can still enjoy being young whilst training. They have also been really influential in helping me stay on top of my health, working with me to overcome challenges and heal from any injuries whilst encouraging me to remain positive. Their coaching has helped me learn so much about running and how to train, helped me make friends, and also helped me to get to World Juniors.”

Katie Gunn – coach Matthew Horsnell

“Matthew Horsnell has such a passion for what he does and instils in you, a belief in yourself and to trust the steps and process that it takes to build over a period of time to be an elite athlete.”

Luke Boyes – coach Ben St Lawrence

“He has always been optimistic and backed me to be much better than I ever thought I could be. As someone who has had success in the sport, his experience has helped me significantly when it comes to pre-race nerves, as well as motivating me to be the best athlete that I can be.”

Jasmine Guthrie - Coach Angus McEntyre

“His belief in me and his coaching expertise has allowed me to believe in myself and reach my goals and dare to dream bigger.”

Erin Shaw – coach Jack McArdle

“He has taken my love of high jump to a competitive level. He is a great mentor as well as a great coach. I have also been very fortunate to have been given opportunities at all levels to be involved in specialist training with various people and other great athletes who I inspire to be like.”

Dom Panozzo – Deb Walsham

Dom spoke about how his coach Deb Walsham had masterminded his return after hamstring problems occurred due to the long sitting for the HSC.

Rather than rush back to training coach Deb Walsham took Dom’s progress slowly, ahead of a return. “My coach Deb reassured me, and we worked through the motions slowly weeding out niggles and kinks in my run steadily dropping my time.”

Aleksandra Stoilova – Hayden Kovacic

“I also love the feedback from my coach after each race so then we can work on it the next training session.”

Hayley Kitching – Tim Kitching

“Without my dad/coach encouraging me, I would not be the athlete I am today. He has always believed in me and supported me in every aspect of my life.”

Bella Guthrie - Angus McEntyre

“My coach Angus McEntyre has pushed me to believe in myself and my potential. He has been at every race and training session pushing me and encouraging me to be the best athlete I can be and wouldn’t be at the stage I am now if it wasn’t for him.”

Mitch Lightfoot - Andy Burton

“My biggest influence has been my coach Andy Burton for pushing me towards my goals and believing I can achieve anything.”

A full list of coaches:

Angus McEntyre - Jasmin Guthrie Isabella Guthrie

Tim Kitching - Hayley Kitching

Ben Liddy - Nicola Hogg

William and Jordan Williams - Laura Roderick

Roger Fabri - Delta Amidzovski

Jack McArdle - Erin Shaw

Matthew Horsnell - Katie Gunn

Melinda Gainsford-Taylor & Katie Edwards - Olivia Rose Inkster

Hayden Kovacic - Aleksandra Stoilova