Coaching any sport is a labour of love. Very few outside the very best in their field do it for the money. The day you fall out of love with coaching is the day you pack it in. Your dissatisfaction and lack of enjoyment will soon spread to your coachees.
I was reminded of how much I enjoy coaching on Wednesday evening. On the final night of Jersey Joggers’ Couch to 5k programme, for adult beginners, we had no less than 45 start and finish their target 5k run through the dark roads and lanes of St Clement. Probably 50% were first-timers with the others generally returners to running after a long layoff.
I guess this is about the 9th or 10th programme of this type I’ve led. It was by some distance the largest group. I don’t know where everyone comes from, really I don’t. I was expecting double figures considering it was the 3rd programme in 14 months, but we regularly had 40+ turn out in sometimes miserable conditions on the Esplanade on weekday evenings. We lost a few, inevitably, through injury and other commitments but what a great turnout for the finale!
And most stayed for the Celebration party at Partners Restaurant, as you can see. I’m the worried, big one in the brown T-shirt.
Everybody enjoyed the programme, I certainly enjoyed working with everybody and met some lovely people. Ominously there are a significant few who are looking forward to doing it all over again in the autumn. That’s not quite the idea but I still like seeing familiar faces on these courses.
So onwards with an extension programme to prepare those who wish for a 10k on 6th April, then we’ll see what will transpire.
Back On The Rock 
Impressive stuff, impressive numbers!
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Yup indeed. Some excellent commitment and the joggers as a group seemed to keep each other going through the 9-week period.
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“I’m the worried, big one in the brown T-shirt.” I had to laugh at that line, Roy. 🙂 You do look a bit more concerned than the others in the photo. What a great photo that is, everyone looks so happy. You’re doing a good thing, Roy!
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They’re drinking all my bubbly, that’s why I’m concerned Jill 🙂 Happily there was still a full one left which I demolished later on.
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Ha ha! Looks like a fun time!
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Hi Roy,
What a great service you are doing for your community. Exercise is so good for you, and so much easier when you have a buddy to do it with. You are helping to create a community that cheers each other on, and that’s good for the heart in more than one way. Well done!
Warm wishes,
Naomi
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Hello Naomi and thank you! You’re right, there is a great satisfaction in helping people – adults or children – lead a healthier lifestyle. And I make sure we all train in the worst of the weather and that builds camaraderie too. The only session I cancelled this time is when the police closed the Avenue (along the front) on a stormy high tide 🙂 Hope you’re well.
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Thank you, Roy. I have bronchitis right now, but feel like I just turned the corner. My spirits are fine. My sister Constance is coming to visit tomorrow on her way back East. How about you? I hope you’re well.
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I’m surprised you don’t get every tropical disease going! Say hello to Constance from me. I’m well and the stress of the day job is nicely balanced by my coaching and writing.
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Will do, Roy! Stay well. So good to hear from you.
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This looks like a great thing to be involved with – the camaraderie is obvious from the photo – and getting fit into the bargain. Good for you Roy – organising anything is never without its problems, however much you enjoy it – always a commitment.
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Thanks Jenny. Yes a commitment but a very worthwhile one. A lot of people out there just waiting for ‘someone’ to organise something like this.
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Hi Roy, I just love this running side of you and think how lovely it would be to run through the lanes of St. Clement!
The ‘worried’ look makes me think of ‘partyitis.’ Now there’s a new word for you.
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Hi Jean, it was quite something seeing the head-torches all bobbing in along the unlit lane to the finishing post – 43 and…finally…the last two in the distance! Definite cause for a little drink.
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A great coaching milestone for you, Roy. And it’s nice to finally put a face (and some great curly hair) to your name. 🙂
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Thanks Janna. Yes I was the original ‘curly top’ as a child, much to my rage. Now it’s just I haven’t got time to get to a hairdresser 🙂
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Looks like you might be the Pied Piper of Jersey, Roy, with the entire population running after you!
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That’s the way I insist in the early weeks to ensure no one has notions of being Paula Radcliffe or Mo Farah. By the end half of them are better runners than me I assure you RH 🙂
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Awesome! Congratulations to you and all the others who completed the run. You’re right – coaching is all about enjoyment. Enthusiasm is infectious.
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Spot on Juliann. Few will turn up if there’s no enjoyment, laughter etc. People have got far too much else to do in their lives. It’s one occasion I stepped back and organised the run, letting the participants do it for themselves.
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Congratulations Roy, it sounds like a really worthwhile and successful programme.
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Thanks Andrea. Crazy numbers and a very good completion rate. It’s certainly an incentive to run that programme again, probably in September.
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This is absolutely wonderful, Roy – what an inspiration you are! 😀
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*blush* not a bit of it Dianne. All I do is recognise the appetite for exercise in our sedentary times and set up an encouraging framework to deal with it. Once done I just blow a whistle and everyone else does the hard work while I get older and fatter 🙂
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I love the obvious camaraderie of the group (and the idea of a drink after running always makes me giggle).
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Yes, that hadn’t really occurred to me Letizia. Nine weeks previously it was a crowd of strangers but everyone bonded nicely, if only for that short period of time.
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It’s great that you contribute to your community in this way. Your description of what it means to be a coach sounds a lot like what it means to be a writer: “Coaching any sport is a labour of love. Very few outside the very best in their field do it for the money.”
The 5K I organize (I am not a runner, though) is just around the corner. Our weather has been awful lately. I’m hoping it doesn’t dissuade too many our of would-be participants.
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Thanks AMB. It’s absolutely no hardship or sacrifice as some people would insist simply because it is fun. Hope the weather picks up for your event.
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Yay! This is so awesome.
Coaching/teaching is one of the most rewarding things in my humble opinion. It’s not an easy thing to encourage others, especially beginners who are busy adults, to either try something new or pick up something they left long ago. But when they do, and we have the privilege of seeing the light bulb shine bright, it’s incredible. Well done, Roy!
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You’ve nailed it Britt, and you know what it’s like. To have a single person improve, smile, look forward to the next session is something you can’t buy.
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