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Cathy Walker on being a Coach

Category: Wellbeing (Financial/Mental/Physical)

career and talent development

uk athleticsCathy Walker

Club: Herts Phoenix

UKA Level 3 Performance Coach in Speed, Relays, Combined Events, Strength & Conditioning & Mentoring

What is your athletics background?

Like most people, I started my athletics journey at school. I hated school, the only thing I was ever good at was sport. My PE teacher at Primary School took me to a local athletics club (Verlea), saying ‘you need to be here’. I was there from the age of 10 to 16.

I was a good club athlete and competed at County level. In those days you had to be invited or make a standard. I was never one of the best athletes, but I was one the coaches would say ‘oh you can pop her in for that event’. I enjoyed my time in athletics, but I got to 16 and got glandular fever which took me out for over a year – I wasn’t allowed to do any sport. Then I left school, moved to London, life got in the way and I left the sport.

I always took an interest in, and watched athletics and almost 20 years later, I got back involved in the sport.

How did you get into coaching?

I was married and had children at this point (early 2000s) – they were off doing sports, one did ballet, and one did karate, the youngest wasn’t old enough so she came everywhere with me. (She ultimately became and athlete and now coaches too). I wanted to get back into athletics. So, like most people do, I went back to my old club, now Herts Phoenix, to see how I could get involved. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to compete at a level I would be satisfied with, so I thought ‘let’s have a crack at coaching’.

I started coaching the young kids’ session, but my ambition was to coach older teenagers and adults, and not limit myself to helping with sessions. I decided to get on with my qualifications and accelerate my coaching journey.

I had a responsible job at this stage with what is now AirBus. I worked in the Space and Technology section where they build satellites. I then moved out of that into Ground Systems, which is military. I did a lot of coaching and mentoring in my day job, and I thought, I want to do this is athletics too. So, I got all my qualifications up to level three.

By this point I’d built up a group of 200/400m/800m athletes, I was really enjoying the process, and the athletes were progressing well. I knew I wanted to do more, but I needed some help with my progression as a coach. I spoke to Lloyd (Cowan), and he was amazing, he looked after me. He believed in me. I started speaking to him at a time when I was having a bit of a wobble around my coaching. He helped me to realise most of my misgivings were of my own making.

I was part of the National Coach Development Programme an England Athletics initiative, which was excellent. It did a lot to promote collaboration among coaches. It was a great 10 years or so.

What is your coaching role now?

I started coaching in 2002. Things have really changed for me over those 20 years. I coach disabled and non-disabled athletes, both for Herts Phoenix and independently.

In about 2009, following the recession, I left AirBus after my role and place of work were due to change, and I told my husband I was going to coach. He said, ‘how on earth are you going to make a living out of that?’ I had absolutely no idea, but I was going to do it. Amongst the other things I did, I met Ros Cramp who was responsible for a lot of disability sport in Hertfordshire. She asked me if I would coach some disability athletes. I wasn’t sure I knew how to do it, but Ros’s answer was ‘You’re a coach, of course you can do it’. That was my introduction to Maria (Verdeille). Since then, I’ve been coaching disability and non-disability athletes – they’re all athletes, you adapt what you need to adapt, it’s as simple as that really.

I also work with the England Athletics Para Talent Programme, something I’ve done for a while, so there’s a group from across the country that I work with on those camps.

What’s your coaching philosophy (what underpins your approach?)

Everyone is an individual, so treat everyone like an individual. Everyone is unique.

I want them to achieve in spite of me, not necessarily because of me. I’m not precious about it. If they get a PB I don’t think ‘well done, I did that’. Because I didn’t. I didn’t run around the track, I may have helped them get there but they are the ones who did it. I want them to achieve through their own efforts.

What motivates you as a coach?

Seeing people achieve.

One of the things I’ve done in the last five years is become a qualified Life Coach and registered Hypnotherapist. I want to coach athletes in a holistic manner, as so much is happening in people’s lives and that impacts everything they do. It furthered my realisation on how much of sport is a mental process.

What’s your most memorable moment as a coach?

Maria (Verdeille) getting to the Commonwealth Games (2018) was a big achievement. I was so thrilled for her.

At the other end of the spectrum, I coach an athlete who endured a difficult experience, suffered badly with anxiety, and couldn’t bring themselves to face the track for a very long time. However, after some months, we successfully got her back to the track which was a huge moment for her and her family and very pleasing for me.

What are your future ambitions in coaching?

I know I’m a good coach. But I want to be a great coach, and I want to help other people realise that they can be great coaches too. I don’t want to necessarily keep it all for myself. I want to be remembered as someone who helped other people realise their coaching dreams.

From the UK Sport Female Leadership Programme [Cathy is joining the second cohort of female coaches on this course], I want to discover as much as possible about how other coaches in other sports do things and learn from them what they do to be as good as they are.

I would love to have an athlete at the Olympics or the Paralympics, I would love for one (or more) of them to achieve that.

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