Sprint Relay Workshop Report – Athlone IT

26 Coaches from across the country recently attended the Sprint Relay workshop held in Athlone IT, Co. Westmeath. The workshop was delivered by National Junior Coach Karen Kirk and organised by Regional Development Officer Paul Byrne.

Over the course of the 3 hours the coaches were given an excellent presentation by Karen on her journey with the Junior Women’s 4x100m Relay team who won a World Silver Medal in Tampere in 2018. She highlighted the up’s and down’s of the team in the previous years and how the hard work and team effort ultimately cumulated in their historic Silver medal.

After the presentation the coaches were introduced to the fundamentals of sprint relays via the AAiCoach Relays E-coaching resource (coaches can download the FREE e-document HERE

Topics covered included:

•    Why Coach Relays
•    Building a National Relay Culture
•    Building a Club Relay Culture
•    Selecting the Team
•    Running Positions
•    The Zones
•    Baton Exchange Technique
•    Check Marks & Starting Position
•    Promoting Relays

This was then put into practice in the indoor track at AIT where coaches were offered ideas on warm up routines and drills for relay squads. This was followed by practical demonstrations from Vicky Harris (Mullingar Harriers AC) and Yemi Talabi (Longford AC) who determined checkmarks, lane positioning and showcased correct baton exchange technique in each of the zones.

Finally, the coaches were then briefed on the 4x300m and 4x400m relays by Paul Byrne. Plans are currently being made to bring this workshop to other regions over the coming months.