“Their main role is to support the athlete and help them develop their potential,” says Toni.  “This can include working on an individual’s training program and competition selection. It might be for 1 year or 4 years, but you should always be aiming to progress for the future.” 

“A coach should also offer emotional support. Many people can doubt themselves and their own ability so you need to support them and confirm their talent.”

It takes a lot more than a whistle and a pair of shorts to make it as a coach. The world of sports science is constantly changing and a great coach should keep up to date with the very latest research and training techniques. 

“I think every coach should be knowledgeable, innovative and driven - probably more driven then the athlete themselves,” says Toni. “They need to understand the role of a coach. An athlete should understand a coach is there to help them achieve, while a coach should be as selfless as much as the athlete is selfish.” 

 

Toni’s top tip – Long distance running

Spring is finally here and the snow has made way for the sun. For many of you this means it is time to dig out your old running shoes and head out to your local park. Training for a long distance run can put a strain on your body, so, whether you are a novice or an experienced runner, there are certain techniques which can help you reach your goals. 

“Preparing for a long distance run is all about getting used to the amount of time you have to spend on your feet. You should keep your training varied. Rowing, swimming and cycling will help you train while taking pressure off your legs. This is important especially for novices who commonly experience aches in their legs and back.”

Follow Toni Minichiello on twitter @Coach_Toni

 

This was something very new, and an experience I really wasn't prepared for. The Olympics and the achievement should have been like the end of a film, the end credits roll and you listen to the theme tune as you leave the cinema. The reality is, that life goes on, and I was left with a feeling of "now what?"

Does the person I "give" to, still want to continue? Is there another target to go for? If you haven't achieved your original goals then the answers is an obvious "yes". But to the achiever there needs to be a period of time to absorb the achievement and to reset the targets and goals. As a coach all that is left for you to do is wait. 

Normally the planning is in full swing, the goals are clear that's what you do, year in year out. For me, new people coming into the training group, brought new targets and new possibilities, drawing up plans and targets for the ambitions of other athletes in the group, is what kept me occupied while, "the learner" Jessica, comes up with her own answers.

Cheers, Toni

Follow Toni Minichiello on twitter @Coach_Toni

 

Although Jess’s results in the long jump and javelin aren’t as eye-catching as when she does the hurdles it’s worth remembering that it’s all preparation for the heptathlon. I liken it to keeping seven plates spinning at the same time. We can’t neglect her strong events because we want to keep those strong. But at the same time she has to improve and get better in every discipline. Also, nothing beats actually competing in the heptathlon itself. Doing an individual event is fine but you don’t get the context of doing, say, the long jump as the fifth event on the second day.

Now we’re into that phase where we just want the Olympics to start. We’ve still got 20-odd days of training left so there’s still lots to do. It’s always a funny time of the cycle between events. When we get to the training camp in Portugal later this month, where the Team GB track and field squad will be based, it will feel like we’re nearly there. Portugal has happy memories for us. It is where we were based before the World Championships in Berlin in 2009 and also before the Barcelona European Championships in 2010.

We’re still trying to keep everything as normal as possible but sometimes it’s difficult. We were sat having lunch this week in Leeds after a javelin session and about 20 people came over asking for Jess for photographs and autographs.

The support she has is amazing.

 

Cheers, 

Toni

 

Watch our videos of Jessica and Toni on the VIDEO page.

Follow Toni on twitter @Coach_Toni 

 

 

 

I am asked if I feel the pressure? I tend to quip back "it's not me doing the running and jumping" but a coach can feel or even add to the pressure.

So as a coach working with pressure, the athlete's mind is where I tend to work most. I've be lucky to have worked with Jessica for so long now that our approach to competition and performance is just part of the teams make up, that you can only do what you can do. Often described as 'controlling the controllables', or not being distracted by outside influences.

Pressure can come from the most unexpected places and a coach can be left to deal with it. With the recent street race in Manchester where there were nine hurdles and not the usual 10 is a great example. At first it can seem like a waste, but we're always looking for the performance positives, beating an Olympic champion and a world silver medalist, checking the splits and trying to compare the performance to previous competition or training. Even using humour "bet it's a British Record for nine Hurdles!"

Even officials feel the pressure and no-one is trying to do a bad job, so there's little value in dwelling on it. What is important is to accept that you and the athlete will need time to go through the frustration before really being able to move on. No athlete really accepts the performance positives or is willing to hear them till they've finished being agitated or angry.

The need to help is what you want to do as a coach but is the athlete quite open to the help just yet.

Cheers, 
Toni

Watch our video of Jessica feeling the pressure ahead of London 2012.

Follow Toni on twitter @Coach_Toni 

 

But in the press conference the following day, talk of Chernova was absent, as if she was not even in the competition, it was all about the loss, and what affect this would have on the Olympic result.

I’ve come away from the World Indoor Championships in Istanbul with mixed feelings. Jessica performed incredibly well, but also a little below par. What I can take away is 7.91 seconds in the 60m Hurdles, the fastest ever time run in an Indoor pentathlon, and a time that would have finished 2^nd in the individual event. A personal best in the shot putt, an Indoor 800m PB and the 5^th fastest ever run in Pentathlon history. A personal best pentathlon score, a National record of 4965 points, the 3^rd best score of all-time. Again a rising performance profile.

Whether you lose to a world record or lose by a point the overriding fact is, that you lose. In the end history will count for nothing when the Olympics start and everyone will start with zero points.
 

Follow Toni Minichiello on twitter @Coach_Toni

 

The Indoor season is a welcome check point on the journey to the Olympics, a chance after 4 months of hard work to see just how training is going. Also a chance to reassess the plan. The Indoor season is far enough away from the Summer Games to give the best possible chance of making changes in time for them to be effective.

The other reason for me is that athletics is sport and still supposed to be fun, the real place to have that fun is in the buzz of the competition arena. A Global Championships is of course special, so why wouldn’t you do it?

Cheers,

Toni
 

Follow Toni Minichiello on twitter @Coach_Toni

The Christmas period is an important time in a training plan that sees the end of a large block of the winter training and marks the start of the Indoor season. The transition from heavy winter work into sharper competition mode.  Not a time to be distracted, but rather a time to refocus.

Once the New Year is underway then that will make the coming season seem all to close, the feeling that you are running out of training days. So it’s important not to lose a step in training, but allow a small rest to get ready for what’s to come.

Or maybe I’m just getting soft in my old age!

 

Merry Christmas,

Toni

 

You can follow Coach Toni Minichiello on Twitter at Coach_Toni

 

 

 Now no athlete ever wants to be reminded of the time ticking away, so I’m not quite sure why I feel compelled to remind Jessica of the remaining time. Maybe it’s the sadistic pleasure in telling them how precious the time is, in the hope that they’ll focus more and give 100% at every training session.

 In fact, the opposite is true and holding Jessica back is more likely the case. The lessons of missing the 2008 Olympics are still very clear in my mind and avoiding those mistakes is 'the' major motivator to me.

 

 

 

Toni

You can follow Jessica's coach Toni Minichiello on twitter @Coach_Toni