Veteran athletics coach not ready to hand over baton just yet

Barry, who will be 80 in December, first got hooked on the sport after competing in the first ever London Marathon in 1981.

Prior to that he had only run as part of his boxing training.

“I boxed from being a youngster until I was 20 and fought at a fairly good level,” he said at the club’s base at the Eco-Power Stadium complex.

“That encouraged my philosophy that you can be as good as you want to be.

“Unlike team sports such as football, where you could be the most talented player in the team but if your teammates don’t pass the ball to you in good positions, you don’t get a chance to show that. If, however, you compete in an individual sport and put in the hard work, and have some ability, then you will get the rewards.”

A personable character who I’ve known for over 30 years, Barry claims that there is no problem with the age gap as was in evidence during my visit to the track where it was clear that he also wants the group to enjoy their training.

“I find it easy to get on with the athletes of all ages that I am involved with,” he said. “Within myself I don’t feel old and I think that working with younger athletes helps keep me young and long may that continue.”

A Level 3 Performance Coach, Barry is qualified to coach all disciplines within the sport.

“At present I coach a small group of javelin throwers and a small group of steeplechase athletes,” he said. “In the past I’ve coached some talented hurdlers, sprinters and 400m runners as well as middle-distance runners.

“I particularly enjoy the challenge of coaching middle-distance runners – the psychology and commitment involved in the event.”

Barry first got involved in coaching during his time as secretary at Stainforth Athletic Club, which joined forces with Doncaster Plant Works to help bring the state-of-the-art facility that today’s athletes enjoy

“I was one of only a small number of coaches at Stainforth and took it up to fill a gap,” he recalled.

“My interest has been heightened since then by the athletes I’ve coached and the high-level coaches I’ve been lucky to meet and work with.

“My philosophy is ‘look, listen and learn’ and I’ve been fortunate to be mentored over the years by national coaches such as Brad McStravick and Brian Scobie and more recently David Lowes.

“I have an open mind to learning and development and I encourage athletes to contribute to their own learning and development by giving them the tools to determine their own success.

“I have a keen interest in sport psychology and bring a lot of what I’ve learnt in my job in social work to my coaching style.”

Although Barry is clearly the driving force behind his training group which meet every Monday and Thursday evening and Saturday morning, and whose members range from eight-year-olds to athletes in their early 30s, he readily admits he can’t do it all on his own.

He receives help from Matthew Whitehead, who coaches the 8-11 age group, and Callum Wilson who coaches the upper end of the younger talent and the older athletes – some of whom are of a national standard.

“The young athletes, aged 13-16 years, coached by Callum are a very talented group and if they continue to listen and learn from him their success will be an indication of the quality coaching they are receiving,” says Barry.

“I can’t emphasise enough how important both are to the functioning of the group and the pleasure I get from watching them coach and encourage the people they work with.

“I personally coach a group of female athletes and some older males and I am always mindful of the transition to Callum’s group.

“I’ve always felt, as I know that you do, that children coming into the sport should try different events and need supportive and not pushy parents.

“As well as commitment and enthusiasm for the sport, they have to be able to see the bigger picture and to show a willingness to learn and listen.

“They also need to recognise that you don’t win Olympic medals as a 13 year-old or 14 year-old - unless you are a very talented gymnast - and as coaches we are looking for a steady progression.

“Some of the best middle-distance athletes that the club has produced, both in recent years and currently, such as Bertie Houghton, Callum, George Rowland, George Phillips, Jenn Montieth and Joe Warren, were all late developers.”

Along with Dave Grayson and Terry Bailey, Barry led the campaign to get a new track for the town both to help retain more of the area’s top athletes and to provide better facilities for Doncaster in general and is delighted with both the location and the facilities.

“I am really pleased that all the effort we put in to try and get a new track to replace the two outdated tracks at Stainforth and Eden Grove has paid off and the club has come on in leaps and bounds,” he says.

“Although he wasn’t involved when we were trying to persuade Doncaster Council and elected mayor Martin Winter to back the scheme, chairman Kev Lincoln has helped take the club to a different level and today the facilities (and the way it is structured) are the envy of a lot other clubs all over the country.”