Sarah Dempsey races the Lindsays West District XC Relays at Kilmarnock (photo by Bobby Gavin)
By Aidan Gilbride
Nine years since her previous team medal, Sarah Demspey found herself back on the podium again at the Lindsays West District XC Relays as Kilbarchan AAC took bronze in the Senior Women’s race.
And, now as a young coach in the sport, she found herself on the same team as one of her athletes.
Sarah had a successful junior career winning many district and national medals and competed for the West of Scotland and Scotland on a number of occasions.
Like many others, upon starting university she faced a tough time juggling competing and earning a degree in architecture. Sarah found herself struggling to fully commit to the sport.
‘When I hit University, I struggled to stay competitive in the sport and life got in the way,’ she said.
‘Having that experience I feel as young coaches we can encourage girls to not fall away from the sport, even if it’s just keeping their toes in it for a time.’
After a long six years in university, she is back competing as well as coaching a new generation of female athletes all while working full-time at an Architecture practice.
Sarah had begun helping out at the club when her former coach Arthur Smith decided to take a step back following his terrific coaching career. Sarah saw this as an opportunity to start her journey.
‘Keeping young athletes in the sport motivates me’ – Natalie Sharp
Linda urges women coaches to ‘go for it’
Nowadays in sport we are a lot more sensitive and understanding of mental health and physical well-being. Young girls deal with a lot of bodily changes that can impact their involvement in the sport.
For Sarah, she coaches a group of young girls and feels her being a young woman in the sport is vital.
‘I think there is a comfortability with a girl closer in age that allows them to kind of open up and speak to me about things they maybe wouldn’t have felt comfortable speaking to a male or older coach about. It helps.’
Sarah remembers well what it was like for her as a young woman developing physically as a junior. She stated that some weeks you feel great, some you don’t and there’s never any rhyme or reason to it.
With her group, she tries to look at everyone as an individual and adapts training to body cycles of three weeks hard and one week easy. For her listening is the most important part:
‘I think it is all about listening. Each girl is different, and they all have different symptoms and struggles with it.
‘We have had quite a few chats, we’ve had a dietitian come in and speak about things the girls should be looking out for, especially as they start to go through that stage.’
Stress and anxiety in young junior athletes are topics that Sarah also feels strongly about. However, she has a unique outlook and approach to it with her athletes. She feels it’s important to not just forget about it.
The transition from athlete to coach is a difficult one for some. And she spoke to the biggest differences she has found so far.
‘I feel I get a lot more nervous watching the girls I coach. As an athlete as soon as you start the nerves go away and you are in control of it. Being a coach and having to watch from the outside you can’t do anything about it.’
Sarah on the podium at the Lindsays West District XC Relays
To her surprise, she has found she gets as much satisfaction out of watching her athletes train and compete as she would if it were herself.
But she couldn’t emphasise enough how important it is to get into coaching for the right reasons.
‘I think they need to want to do it for themselves and you are just there to support them and help them through their own journey,’ said Sarah.
‘The motivation needs to come from them, we only provide the tools to help them get there.’
Coaching gave Sarah a new reinvigorated interest in sports stating that watching the girls train and compete brought back that feeling for her. A lot of junior athletes find themselves taking sports too seriously, putting too much pressure on themselves.
‘From my perspective, it’s a no-pressure thing, it’s just enjoyment. Coming from Junior you thought about it quite seriously to an extent. As an adult getting back into it, I’m just loving running again.’
Kilbarchan AAC’s Amy Teasdale – who is coached by Sarah Dempsey – represents Scotland in the Celtic Nations XC at Renfrew back in January (photo by Bobby Gavin)
At the West District XC Relays at the beginning of last month, you saw everywhere that aspect of togetherness which in a sport as individualistic as running is always a joy to see.
Sarah as a coach and athlete was very much a part of that feeling, sporting the face paint and black and yellow ribbons in her hair. She spoke to this feeling of togetherness and being a part of something.
‘I could see the girls were excited that I was taking part. I think there was a wee bit of respect gained in that you can still get out and do it as an adult while still being fun and enjoyable.’
With people like Sarah, the future of coaching is in safe hands and it’s fair to say she is loving her life as a coach to a group of talented young girls. She states her favourite part of it is watching the girls develop.
‘It not even just about the girls doing well to be honest,
‘Seeing their personalities flourish and how much confidence they get from training and the rewards that come with it – whether it be national titles or just turning up knowing they’ve improved a lot and how far they’ve come – those are great motivations for me.’
+++
Tags:
coaching, Linda Smith, Natalie Sharp, Sarah Dempsey
