DHL Sprint School
Sprint School Season Finale
Over fifty riders travelled from across the UK to take part in the DHL Sprint School racing day on 6th December. British Cycling coaches Tim Buckle and Gary Coltman organised an action packed day with six hours of competition for the youngsters.
Tim was delighted with the day, and even more with how much the riders had improved over the season. He said: "Well that was mint!! Objectives of ‘08 were about having fun and showing improvement, TICK!!!!! Better get my head down and make ‘09 even better hey. Thanks everyone you know who you are!!"
During the three hour morning session on the track the competitors took part in Keirin heats and Devils. Heats for Keirins were seeded according to 200m times and through out the competition riders moved up and down to different heats, the top two finishers went up and the bottom two down. This allowed riders of all ages to race against those of similar ability. Emerging victorious after 45 heats, Matt Rotherham (14) and Emily Kay (13) won the competition. Later that evening, the two young riders presented Chris Hoy with his winner’s bouquet and did a victory lap in front of the packed Revolution crowd.
Star rider Jamie Staff was on hand in the morning, helping the kids warm up and giving tips and tactics to those waiting on the fence for their turn to go. He said:” It was a brilliant day watching the young kids put into practice what they have learnt over the last year. The improvements they have all made both technically and tactically is great.”
Jamie continued, “I hope it has given them a better understanding of what it takes to be a sprinter and I hope that they all pursue their dreams in wanting to be the Chris Hoys, Vicki Pendletons and Jamie Staffs of the future! I have no doubt that they will.”
Owing to incredible organisation by the coaches and the riders punctuality, the heats finished nearly an hour ahead of schedule allowing time for three devils. These were close fought battles between the tired youngsters; indeed many of those placed highly in the morning were unable to hold their form. Devil winner, Ryan Whatmough, a regular Sprint School attendee said, " I had a great time at the sprint school and I’m glad I got to meet some of the Olympic stars especially Jamie Staff again"
After a short lunch break and a visit by man of the moment Chris Hoy, the riders were back, this time on the Watt Bikes. Jamie was joined by Jason Kenny and Ross Edgar and together they set the time to beat. The youngsters were then divided into 12 teams after being seeded by a quick 250 TT.
The competition was fierce and just a few seconds separated the first and last placed teams. Showing some serious speed, Rebecca Womersley, Matt Webb and Alan Trulove successfully saw off the competition and won!
Rebecca commented, " I had a fantastic day thanks to DHL. I really enjoyed Keirin racing in the morning and was pleased that my team won the sprint on the Watt bikes. The prize was great having my photo taken with the British sprint squad at the evening Revolution."
Matt continued, “The day was awesome lots of people been helpful and it was cool meeting all the Olympic stars. the racing in the afternoon was good especially winning and it was a nice way to finish off the year.”
As ever, Sprint School is not all about the winning, and the final award of the day went to Eleanor Corkhill. Eleanor’s enthusiastic nature, happy demeanor and dedication to everything she does has consistently impressed her coaches and she was awarded with a jersey signed by the best sprinters in the World – including Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton, Jamie Staff, and Arnaud Tournant.
Eleanor was delighted with her award, saying 'The things I have learnt from Sprint School this year would be; making new friends, meeting new coaches and most of all learning new skills on the bike. I think Sprint School has given me so much more confidence and skill that I needed to ride the track at a whole new level. The coaches are great, and every time I have been to a sprint school, I have made new friends! I also enjoyed meeting the 'stars' because they are really good at giving you advice if you are stuck, or just talking to them in person..
Sprint School Success at the Salford Nocturne
Well done to the 20 Sprint School riders who took part in the youth Roller Racing at the Salford Nocturne on Saturday night.
The standard was very very high, with 11 riders reaching speeds of over 80kph!
Matt Rotherham won the boys and Melissa Bury won the girls recording the fastest womens Roller Racing time ever!
Matt's brother showed talent runs in the family and won the youngsters competition.
DHL Sprint School: Coaching our Olympic champions
Words by Adam Tranter / Fusion-Media.co.uk
It seemed fitting that a newly crowned gold medallist was on the frontline, coaching our future Olympians at the 5th September DHL Sprint School in Newport. Guest rider, Jamie Staff has had some of the best tuition possible since his late inclusion into the World Class Performance Plan from a BMX background. British Cycling’s Performance Manager, Shane Sutton was also on hand to provide expert coaching to the scheme’s 12-15 year olds, with many of his tips coming straight from training guides for our Olympic riders.
The DHL Sprint School has been running since February 2008, with different star riders providing tips, advice and answering any individual questions the riders may have. Each event has had a different objective, which focuses on the important aspects of match sprinting and Keirin racing; riders have been taught a whole host of skills, from learning how to rush the gap to keeping an eye on their opponents. Each event has a practical side, but riders are also taught the basics in a classroom environment, as well as being able to take part in slow-paced skill games like ‘Sumo’. The kids have certainly grasped the concept of team-work, as when Olympic gold medallist, Jamie Staff and Great Britain coach, Shane Sutton entered the Sumo ring, they were quickly ganged up upon and consequently eliminated.
British Cycling’s youth coaches, Tim Buckle and Matt Winston used video equipment so that riders could see and learn from their mistakes after the practical sessions. This technique quickly solved any problems riders had with their tactics and easily allowed them to see the error of their ways. The British Cycling team video almost all of their races and even collect footage from training sessions, this proven technique is now being moved to different aspects of the performance scale.
If there’s a key to getting young riders to understand what you are telling them, it’s allowing them to put what they’ve learned into practical situations. Over the season of events, racing at the DHL Sprint School has been limited, but the September edition allowed the riders to get involved in various rounds of Keirin racing. At this level, every coach will tell you that it’s not about the winning, but at the Sprint School, this is genuinely the case. Riders can be spotted for their tactics, ability to listen, fluency, style or simply training potential. With a variety of ages present, it’s not just about who crosses the line first.
Jamie Staff certainly knows a thing or two about track sprinting, and when asked if he thought there was any potential talent on the track at DHL Sprint School, he responded; “I’ve done a few sprint schools now, and I’ve been really impressed with the quality riders and volume of riders. There are so many girls here today and that’s fantastic, I’m sure that’s down to Vicky [Pendleton]. The riders are getting the idea now and they’re not making the really big mistakes they might have done in the first couple of sprint schools. Obviously, the coaching is getting better and they’re obviously feeling a bit more comfortable on the track, it’s just really exciting to be honest, it’s making everyone’s job easier further down the road.”
British Cycling’s Performance Manager, recently back from the Beijing Olympics, enjoyed his first time at DHL Sprint School, he said; “Before I came to Sprint School, I sort of lost my appetite as far as coaching was concerned and this has just rejuvenated my enthusiasm back into the coaching element of it. To think how far forward the kids have progressed in 6 hours, imagine what you could do with these athletes on a 24/7 basis, it’s phenomenal. A lot of these kids haven’t even done much track before, there was one kid who turned up to the track today, and had never been on the track until last night, it’s incredible to see what Guy [Elliott] at DHL has put into the sport. I think the legacy of DHL Sprint School will just go on and on.”
Sprint School Success at the National Youth Omnium
Well done to the Sprint School riders who took part in the National Youth Omnium last weekend. Over 70 of you took part and 11 Sprint School riders won medals in the five categories.
Harriet Barnes, Jacob Ragan and Lucy Garner won Gold in their groups.
Simon Yates, Harriet Owen, Matt Rotherham, Emily Kay and Harvey Watson all took home Silver medals.
Sam Harrison, Daniel Maslin and Elinor Barker picked up Bronze in their groups.
Click here for the link to the British Cycling report.
Sprint School Summer break
We've got a short break until the last school in September so have arranged for a roller racing competition at the Salford Nocturne on 30th August. Details are being emailed out, if you'd like to attend please drop me an email by 13th August - info@sprintschool.com.
Craig MacLean will be taking part in the racing and we'll arrange a trip round the riders enclosure for all Sprint School riders taking part in the roller competition. More info soon.
Nominations for the final school will be closing in a couple of weeks so please let your coaches know your avaliabilty.
To read previous articles in the news archive click here.
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