We chat with the former international distant runner who falsifies a career in successfully bringing teams successfully
Jackie Newton has extensive experience as a personal trainer, a team coach and as a leader of high performance teams. He is currently a leader in the former international distance of UK, he is the leader in the mountaineering of mountaineering (works on the High Execution Strategy of the Olympic Mountaineering) for coaches working with the Irish Institute.
The 60-year-old has a successful record and skilled, trust, trust and compassion. In addition to its existing roles, he worked for national governing bodies, including the British Orientation (National Development Coach and Performance Manager), Athletics Northern Ireland (Head of Coaching and Coaching Development). This summer later, he will take a new position on the sports director of the Danish Athletics Federation.
Given the progress you are making in the mountaineering Ireland, which attracted you to the Denmark’s Atletics position.
I am very much at home in the athletes and I think I have most done that I have been in any role, it has been with Athletics in Northern Ireland. I had very good workers, and we were in line with our own philosophies. We were very determined to make a difference, and we received amazing results.
Athletics is where I want to be, but I will be forever grateful for the climbing job. I only had one year with them, but I have been very well supported and I have learned a lot. It was part of a new Olympic sport, and I really didn’t seek move forward, but it’s good to know that I have caused a change. I experience my experience and learning my role in North Ireland, I have placed a place on my place, the structures are in place, and the election policy is being held. That’s all well.
My successor in Ireland is to climb but I think I was able to make those initial changes because I was not Achieved and I was not emotionally attached. I drove some feathers there, but the new man can now come in and run with it.
How did you train for the first time?
I graduated in the early 2000s.
As a athlete, I was a good coach, but I was also from the background of teaching. I was a primary teacher during my career, and during that time I started training the school crossroad team.
I chose some talented athletes to the coach individually who went to their first international jacket. I always knew I want to train at a high level because it’s the performance level I find so exciting. My own values in life are focused on hard work and devotion. I like to give everything, and as a athlete, in fact, along the right path, it is psychological skills. I have always wanted to be the best I can be at all I’ve ever done so when you have that mindset and you are quite competitive.
I trained several athletes who represented England and Wales. Surprisingly, it was not possible to train me in my own club (Stockport Harriers), as they are well served in terms of resistant coaches, so I went there in Northern Ireland there.
I also used coaching (national standard athletes) British orientation during my full-time work, but when I moved from a talented coach to a presentation manager, I rather collect coaches.
How would you describe your coaching style?
The coaches that train me were an extremely athlete. They understood my motivation and really did a good job with me on the psychological aspects of such self-confidence, as well as I define my training program.
I really had a good experience as an individual to be treated as an individual, and I think I moved it into my exercise. I have always tried to really understand the athlete’s motivation or purpose. For me, communication is also very important, so making sure we agree where we are and where we want to achieve.
With the training of the team, I will always contact the personal coach and make sure we all agree to the result we want. It’s almost like a contract. “What is my role and what can you expect from me? And what is your role and what can I expect from you? ” Summarizing is quite difficult, but it’s about clarity. It is also not possible to respect the personal coach, strengthen the message and does not give contradictory advice.
Do you feel that your personal coach skills have benefited you in your more strategic performance roles?
Absolutely because you can have coaching conversations. Do you understand what the coach tells you because you speak the same language?
An example can be when we have created a program with a physiotherapy, power and ventilator coach, physiologist, plus coach and athlete (as a couple). The athlete can have injuries, and if the coach sees a physius other, for example, they may think that physically is very careful who then works on the same page.
Because of my experience, I can see it from the point of view, so it is really beneficial that I can turn to physius, tell you what the coach thinks and then please that they explain their logic.
It comes in my knowledge of sports. I have knowledge about being a performer, and I have knowledge of coaching knowledge and I can put on it, so I find it confident in leading those conversations and find solutions.
Knowledge is key, but you also mentioned your ability to build connections based on support, trust and compassion. How important these skills are proven in practice?
When I started my first performance in Athletics (Northern Ireland in Athletics) I prioritized to build trust and honesty and really understand everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. We quickly got to know each other, and when you built the level of trust, you can have very honest conversations.
Gold Coast 2018 Cooperation Games took place in my one year, starting with work. Entering games can be quite a lot of pressure and you have to know where someone will be really strong or where they can fall. It works both forms and people who work with me should also have known me. They need to know my strengths, or where you may need to climb to support me.
We had several training camps in winter, where we brought together our long list athletes and their coaches, we agreed to roles and reconciled our targets.
Cooperation games were in the center of our number one. I saw it as a chance. I thought that if we could do something really amazing, we would like to start a brilliant start and we would continue to build there.
First of all, it was about the staffing team, then the winners and athletes, and the coaches, and the coaching coaches needed to do what it should do there, and what it was needed to do, and what should be done there. What needs to be done to do what needs to be done?
From there, it was laid and upwards, and we were again received results in Birmingham 2022.
As the head of the coaching development, in the British Athletics (2021-2023), you are cooperating with a female coaching network (FCN) to create and deliver gender capital, which led to team teams and more performance athletes who work with female coaches. Did that progress continue?
Sufficient progress has not been made. I don’t have exact figures, but the understanding is that the 2024 paris numbers do not improve. I think only 13 percent of the coaches in the games were women, and it’s shocking. Of course, this is a much wider problem than just our sport, and it is also a social problem, but in sports we need to do more to allow women’s coaches.
There is an unconscious bias in the system, I have felt it, and it is a way to ensure that the coaches make transparency, exemplary, support and remuneration transparency. I hoped to do it before my role (with Uka) was superfluous. FCN and I meant to place a system on the spot, regardless of who was in decision-making. FCN is still doing an amazing job and conversations are still happening. I have continued to work with them and use the support I suggested.
What is the most valuable lesson you have learned in your coaching career / best advice you will spend new / aspiring coaches?
It’s the same as for athletes. It will not be smooth and linear progress. There are a lot of bitches on the road, but if you learn from mistakes, decide to achieve your goals, you will get you out, where you want to be. The “good people” is important, and I have recently arrived more mentors. If you have people in your life that support and challenge you, as well as protect you, better decisions and progress.
