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Collin Matiza

Sports Editor

ZIMBABWE’S track and field coaches have been given an opportunity to hone their coaching skills.

They have been invited to take part in a two-day speed and power virtual conference which will be hosted by England Athletics next month.

Speaking to The Herald yesterday, former Zimbabwe track and field coach, Stanley “Fresh” Madiri, who is one of the organisers, said the seminar is set for November 14-15.

“Speed and power are vital for sprinting and impact most athletics events,’’ Madiri said.

“Our virtual conference will put the coaches in front of expert speakers who will present topics on technique, training planning, physical prep, plyometrics and the mindset to pull it all together.

“It is a national conference on these shores for coaches, across all sports with a speed and power bias, and we are inviting coaches from Zimbabwe to take part in this high-profile conference.’’

Madiri is based in Bedfordshire, England.

Among the panel of experts for this two-day conference will be former top athletes and coaches, who include the likes of ex-Great Britain women’s 400m event specialist Christine Ohuruogu and Lloyd Cowan, who used to specialise in 110 and 400 metres hurdles.

They will be joined by Nick Winkelman, Aston Moore, Frank Attoh, Mike Young, Gareth Walton, Ed Archer, Chris Shambrook, Christine Harrison-Bloomfield, Julie Pratt-Benterman and Madiri.

The opening day on November 14 will see Ohuruogu speaking on “Preparation for Championship Performance: the importance of the coach-athlete partnership.”

She will be joined in discussing this topic by Cowan, an Olympian who is now one of the most respected senior elite speed coaches in the UK.

Young, who won six team NCAA championships and coached four USA Track & Field Championship, Olympic and World Championship athletes, will talk about Science and Practice of Elite Speed during the same day.

Young is the Director of Performance at Athletic Lab Sports Performance Training Centre in the United States.

The same platform, on November 14, will see Shambrook, who was the Sports Psychologist for the Great Britain rowing team for over 22 years and five Olympic cycles, speaking on the Psychology of Championship Performance.

Another interesting topic will be the one on Speed Training for Acceleration and it will have Walton as its main moderator.

As a Performance Specialist, Walton has worked with athletes from a range of sports at Olympic, professional and amateur levels.

Archer is a former Director of the UK Strength & Conditioning Association with over 20 years of experience in Strength and Conditioning and the fitness industry, including working with Gloucester Rugby, Formula 1 and athletes from many sports.

He will tackle the subject on Foundation Strength and Conditioning for Explosive Strength.

The last day of this speed and power virtual conference will see six other expert speakers — Winkelman, Moore, Attoh, Madiri, Harrison-Bloomfield and Pratt-Benterman — coming on board.

They will all touch on or talk about several topics that include Inspiring Performance, The Implementation of Plyometrics for Speed & Power, Session Planning for Sprints, Mastering Sprint Technique and Mastering Hurdle Technique.

Madiri said during the final day he will speak about one of his favourite fields in track and field coaching – Session Planning for Sprints.

He is an IAAF Elite Sprints & Hurdles Coach and UKA Level 4 Performance Coach who combines his passion, and credentials for neuromechanics, with his education background to implement speed programmes for podium performances.

Participation fees for the conference on Day One will be £60 for affiliated attendees and £99 for non-affiliated attendees while, for Day Two, the fees will be £99 for affiliated attendees and £179 for non-affiliated attendees.