Following the launch of the Athletics Coaching Strategy last month, this week marks the start of a new weekly series profiling coaches from across the pathway and event groups:

Trevor Painter
Pathway Coaching Lead

What is your athletics background?
I first came to an Athletics club (Wigan Harriers) to improve my speed as I was a Rugby League player. I fell in love with the sport and got quite good at the 400m on the track achieving a PB of 47.08.

How did you get into coaching? When?
In the year 2000 at the age of 29, Jen (Jenny Meadows my wife) said I was now “too old” to race and I should take over coaching her as I was involved in the logistics of it anyway. Of course, I should add that Jen only retired at 35! I had always been a curious athlete and quite liked the planning and organisational side of training programmes, so this was a natural progression.

I coach across lots of levels from U17 club athletes through to senior medal winning international athletes. I mainly work with sprints and middle distance.
I am not a member of a club now although as an athlete I did run for Wigan Harriers and then Trafford AC. The athletes I coach are from multiple clubs across the North-West of England, but we come to work together. I am largely based at Robin Park Arena in Wigan.

What’s your coaching philosophy?
Firstly, I like to have an individualistic approach to coaching. Rather than coaching the event, I focus on the individual athlete and what strengths and weaknesses they have for their event. You need a good understanding of the dynamics of the event but it’s more important to link this to the individual’s needs.
Secondly, it’s all about the environment you set. A happy and fun environment will make it much easier for athletes to perform and develop in, so a big part of my coaching is setting the right tone at training and ensuring the right characters join the group, in terms of athletic ability and what social skills they have.

What keeps you motivated?
I like to help people develop and I love the puzzle-solving side of athletics coaching. I.e., what does this individual need? how best do we structure that?
I believe as a coach you have to suppress your ego in order to do your job well but the challenge of getting success as a coach is what drives us. Success does not have to be winning Olympic medals, but for each individual you work with, it’s about what does success look like for them and planning how I can help them achieve that.

What’s your biggest achievement or most memorable moment as a coach?
Most memorable would be the first big win, Jenny Meadows winning Bronze at the World Championships in Berlin 2009. That will always stand out as a very special moment.
Of course, 2021 has been a very special year with Keely Hodgkinson winning a European Indoor Championship Gold, an Olympic Silver Medal and winning the Diamond League title. I believe I am the first British Coach to win the Diamond League with two different British athletes (Jenny Meadows in 2011 & Keely Hodgkinson in 2021) so that’s pretty cool too.

What are your aspirations for 2022 onward?
To keep helping athletes to be the best that they can be and having a lot of fun along the way! To keep connected to my coaching network and expand it if the opportunities arise. Communication is a powerful tool and even casual conversations can inform learning and development.