Coaching & Training
At BLAC, we’re all about personal development and enjoyment. We invite your athletes to come down to Dendy Park during the week to receive top quality coaching from experienced coaches and pro athletes. Midweek training isn’t compulsory, but we can honestly say it makes a big difference.
Training days are also a vital part of building camaraderie and team spirit among athletes.
What coaching is available
** Sprints - 70m to 400m
** Middle distance - 800m to 1500m
** Hurdles
** Discus and Shot Put
** High Jump
** Long Jump and Triple Jump
** Walks
When & Where does coaching take place?
TUESDAYS
SPRINTS & MIDDLE DISTANCE 5pm-6:15pm
LONG JUMP 6pm-7pmTHURSDAY
HURDLES 5:30pm-6:30pm
THROWS 5:30pm-6:30pm
HIGH JUMP 6pm-7pm
The Brighton Little Athletics Coaching Team
POLINA GALINA - LONG JUMP, HIGH JUMP & THROWS
Polina is the newest member to the BLAC coaching team, joining us from Caulfield Grammar, where she has been helping the girls’ athletic team. You will find her at Dendy Park on Wednesday afternoons training our javelin throwers. Polina has competed at the highest level, representing Ukraine at the World and European championships in athletics (heptathlon) and softball. She is a qualified athletics coach, sports instructor and PE teacher. When she’s not coaching budding athletes at Brighton, she’s also competing for Sandringham Athletics Club and she also plays softball for Victoria.
ALLAN POYNTON - HURDLES
Allan is BLAC’s longest serving coach, having been with the club for 23 years. He started here when his own kids were competing and has enhanced his coaching knowledge and experience, as well as imparting that wisdom to an array of hurdlers, including numerous state medalists and 2 State Multi gold medalists. Allan is an accredited ATFCA level 3 hurdles coach and level 2 recreational running coach. He has also been a hurdles coach with the LAVic Junior Development Squad for 10 years. Whilst he has overseen the development of some champion athletes in his time, Allan prides himself on being able to work with athletes of all abilities, living and breathing the key values of BLAC: participation and each athlete striving for their personal best.
David Eadie - MIDDLE DISTANCE
David Eadie is an elite distance runner with over 40 years experience competing at all levels from a club runner to national representation. David started running as a 9 year old down at Morning Peninsula when his dad encouraged him to run his first marathon and he still continues to this day. He has been a coach for over 10 years and coaches a range of athletes from serious national level runners through to amateur athletes who just want to achieve their own personal running goals. David has developed an extensive knowledge in coaching young athletes of all ages and no matter what level of athlete, David is here to impart his knowledge to make the athletes at Brighton faster and stronger so they can achieve their goals.
A typical session at Dendy Park would include warm up, drills/strides to support the development of a good running efficient running style and then short and long reps to build core speed. David is really looking forward to joining the coaching team at Brighton Little Athletics this season, and can't wait to see you down at Dendy Park on Tuesday's at 5.00pm.
BLAC Sponsored:
Introduction to Teaching Little Athletics Skills (ITLAS)
Take your first step into basic athletics skills coaching.
All practical .... No exam .... No previous experience necessary!
If you want to learn more about athletics for kids, then the ITLAS is for you!
The ITLAS is designed to help participants become better placed to assist children to perform basic athletic skills. The course is great for parents, school teachers and other interested persons who want to know a little more about the skills of the sport so that they may help to coach children of Primary school age, assist at Little Athletics Centres or prepare students for a school athletics carnival. Participants will be shown skills, drills, games and activities relevant to the target age group.
The ITLAS is a non accredited practical coaching course designed for Little Athletics and conducted on behalf of the Australian Track and Field Coaching Association (ATFCA).
Course Outcomes
At the conclusion of the course the participant will, for the target age group:
Better understand an appropriate working model for each Little Athletics event
Have a greater knowledge of appropriate drills, skills, games and activities for particular event groups
Identify some of the more common technical faults of events
Have a basic understanding of a simple coaching session
Better understand how to organise a group safely
1 Day course - 6.5 hours duration
Participants need to be minimum of 16 years of age at the time of the course.