Wall of Vulnerability Coaching Experiences with Joe Ryan

'Wall of vulnerability' with Joe Ryan

Joe Ryan had a great day at the Irish Schools Track and Field Championships including three winners with Amy Ní Hamaill in the senior Girls’ 800m, Kevin Mc Grath in the senior boys’ 1500m Kevin and Jack O'Leary in the senior boys’ 5000m.

Also at the championships Rose Finnegan took bronze in the senior girls’ 1500m, Jack Moran took bronze in the U16 Boys’ Mile and Caoimhe O Brien won silver in the junior girls’ 800m. Here Joe Ryan continues the 'wall of vulnerability' series and shares his coaching experiences. 

Bio:                  

Name: Joe Ryan          

Age: 38

Club: Mullingar Harriers

Coaching Accreditation: AAI Level 2

Number of Years Coaching: 15

Joe is a high performance junior coach from Mullingar Harriers working with some of Ireland’s leading Junior and U23 endurance athletes. He is a National Junior Team Coach and has worked closely with the National Junior XC panel the past three years in preparation for the European XC Championships. He brings a wealth of experience coaching for almost 15 years now and has an in-depth knowledge and understanding of junior athletics. Joe coaches Kevin McGrath who is arguably Ireland’s most exiting up and coming middle distance talent, winning the Gold medal at the European Youth Olympics over 1500m. He has also coached Shane Fitzsimons to participate in World Youth & European Junior Championships over 1500m, achieving a National Youth Record en route and a junior PB of 3 mins 43.33 secs. Other athletes coached by Joe to achieve qualification for major Junior competitions include Jake Byrne (World Youth 3000m), Linda Conroy (European Junior X-Country) and Jack O Leary to the European XC Championships & European Junior T&F Championships in the 5000m. Joe’s education includes a Bachelor of Business Studies from Dublin City University and a Higher Diploma in Primary Education. He is an Athletics Ireland Level 2 coach who competed at the World Junior T&F in the 10km race walk in 1996 before injury hampered his competitive career.

What’s the most significant message you could pass on to a young coach today?

Be open minded in your approach to learning about coaching; engage with other coaches and share information. Develop strong lines of honest communication with athletes in your group and make every effort to be present at as many training sessions as possible.

Name two key mistakes you have made as a coach throughout your career?

1. At one point (2004-2007) my training group was too large and this made it difficult to provide individualised coaching to athletes – since changing this, the level of performance in the group has increased.
2. I invested too much time with athletes who were not committed to the sport, trying to motivate those with waning interest– this time is better spent with athletes eager to improve and engage on a longer term development plan.

If you were only permitted to utter one sentence to an athlete prior to the most important race of their career, what would this sentence be?

“You are in fantastic shape, now just stay relaxed and stick to our plan.”

(Last sentence spoken to Shane Fitzsimons as he walked to the call room before running 3 mins 43.33 secs for 1500m as an 18 year old, ranking him fourth U20 in Europe in 2013)

Name two of the greatest challenges you face as a coach on a regular basis?

1. One of the greatest challenges is instilling a strong and focused group culture.
2. Finding the time to implement a more effective Talent ID programme in my area.

You have just retired from coaching and you are only allowed document three pieces of coaching information encapsulating the entirety of your coaching career, experience and knowledge. What are they?

1. The importance of correctly profiling the athletes in the group is key to producing optimum performance levels.
2. Periodise and prioritise – planning a season and progression over a number of seasons. (Honore Hoedt demonstrated this very effectively when hosting a workshop in AIT in 2015)
3. Immerse yourself in the literature of the sport – particularly the writings of Peter Coe and Renato Canova.