Endurance community grows at second ECN

Big attendance at second ECN

The second meeting of the Endurance Coaches Network (ECN) took place at Athlone IT at the weekend (April 24), with roughly 100 Irish endurance coaches attending.

The day kicked off with an opening address by National Junior Endurance Coach/Coach Education Lead Steve Macklin discussing the importance of the ECN and the layout of the day. Martin Rush Head of Coaching & Athlete Development for England Athletics took to the stage next delivering a superb presentation about our ‘Coaching Practice’ emphasizing the importance of communication, the challenges of the coaching journey and the importance of working on the athletes mechanical model before emphasizing certain types of training. Irelands coaching guru Liam Moggan of Coaching Ireland then took to the stage and gave a rousing presentation entitled ‘There’s more to coaching than meets the eye’. Liam described coaching as a balancing act and the athlete-coach relationship as the ultimate coalition. He hit home that we are coaches of PEOPLE that run and that you must build effective relationships to get their buy in.

The coaches were then treated to three very open and honest breakout presentations led by Laura Kerr of Northern Ireland Athletics, Mark Kirk and Noel & Niamh Richardson discussing training and engaging with the coaches.

Laura outlined the importance of developing physical literacy in younger athletes and not specializing in one event too young. She emphasized the point of maximizing your windows of opportunity. Noel & Niamh gave a fantastic look into their group training environment, discussing their emphasis on the group ethos, social side to training and slow & steady progression of their athletes.

Mark gave a very open, brave and honest account of his daughter Katie’s training and the challenged they have faced. It was a superb reflection and honest account of her training progression.

Former Olympian Colin Griffin took to the stage to discuss the importance of running mechanics for endurance athletes and the cause of various running injuries. He stated that running is a skill and that endurance runners should be fine-tuning their technique regularly just like other event groups. Next there was a panel discussion with all the presenters and a chance for the audience to ask them questions.

The day was rounded out with Steve Macklin giving a brief summary of some key reflections of the day and also stating that as coaches we all face challenges and all go through the same things. He stated that there is now a community of practice born where coaches can contact each other and share their issues/challenges and share ideas etc with.

The ECN’s third session will take place in late September or early October with the date to be confirmed shortly. A special thanks to all the coaches that made the 2nd day a huge success and to all the presenters for sharing their knowledge & expertise.