SW W ics N NS Volum Athlettics e 1, Issue 3 Little thle Little A March/April 2006 Inside this issue: A word from the 2 RUNRUN FORFOR FUNFUN President 2005 Coach of 2 ELEVEN STATE RECORDS SMASHED the Year The 2006 Little Athletics State Championships was an extremely successful Turning Dreams 3 weekend with 11 records broken, including some that have stood for 20 years and into reality held by members of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games Track & Field Team. Six Ex NSW Little 3 of these records will now be issued to Australian Little Athletics as new Australian Athletes at Best Performances. Commonwealth Games Event Name Centre Old Record New Record Submitted for U9 Girls Shot Put Juanita Lloyd Bankstown Sports 9.05m 9.13m ABP 2006 State 4 U12 Girls 800m Christie Pearson Springwood 2-19.4 2-17.3 ABP = Team U12 Girls 1500m Christie Pearson Springwood 4-44.6 4-38.8 State Team 4 U13 Boys 1500m James Connor Campbelltown UWS 4-24.1 4-21.3 Camp 1 U13 Boys Long Jump Kurt Jenner Mt Pritchard 6.07m 6.11m U13 Girls 1500m Walk Shannon Jennings Nepean 6-47.0 6-35.3 ABP LAANSW 5 U14 Girls 80m Hurdles Carly Rodger Port Hacking 12.1s 11.7 ABP Resources U14 Girls 200m Hurdles Carly Rodger Port Hacking 27.2s 26.8 U14 Girls High Jump Mia McKinnon Port Hacking 1.71m 1.75m 2006 State 6 U15 Girls Shot Put Lomana Fagatuai Ambarvale 14.79m 14.81m ABP Cross Country U15 Boys 3000m Cameron Page Gosford 9-01.4 8-50.6 & Road Walks New Centres 7 Find-a-Word 8 Special points of interest: • Ray Russell named Coach of the Year • 2006 State Team announced • Ex LAANSW athletes winning 9 medals at the Commonwealth Games ATHLETES WITH A DISABLITY AT STATE • State Cross Country & Road Walks Program The 2006 LAANSW State Track & Field Athletes, parents and officials all • Welcome to the new Championships marked the first time that commented on how happy they were with Goolagong Little the Association has formally conducted the day and the success of the Athletics Centre events for athletes with a disability at a proceedings. State Championship level. The Association is now 18 young athletes aged nine to fifteen aiming to expand this years took part in the three invitational program to include events events that were on offer - 100m, Long for athletes with a Jump & Shot Put. All of these events disability at the were conducted as part of the Saturday Zone and Region program. Championships. A word from the President... At the completion of another Championships. On behalf of the Annual season, I would like to take this the Association I wish the Conference and opportunity to congratulate 2006 LAANSW State Team all AGM in July. I everyone involved in Little the best at the Championships. would like to Athletics NSW for the shared There are sure to be many fine remind all Centres that the successes over the past 12 performances and more Annual Conference is your chance months. Our Association has importantly many strong to have your say on the running advanced in many areas off the friendships created. of the Association. I look track, not to mention the forward to meeting many new During the “off season” from fantastic performances recorded faces at the Conference in athletics we spend a great deal on the track. Bathurst in July. of time planning for the year As advised later in this ahead. We will be holding a Board Once again, thank you for a great publication, we are headed to of Management Workshop in season – we look forward to an Canberra next week for the May; a Zone Co-ordinators even bigger and better Australian Little Athletics Meeting in June and of course 2006/2007. RAY RUSSELL Named Little Athletics Coach of the Year Ray Russell being presented with the award from Ron White (ATFCA) Ray Russell, a dedicated volunteer Little Athletics coach of fifteen years has been named the 2005 Australian Track & Field Coaches Association (NSW Branch) Little Athletics Coach of the Year. The award was presented at a special ceremony held on Sunday March 19 at the Little Athletics NSW State Track & Field Championships. Ray is an individual whose coaching highlights the values and philosophies of Little Athletics and junior sport in general. He holds a Level 4 coaching accreditation and is an Australian Track & Field Coaches Association member. His coaching is based at the Port Hacking Little Athletics Centre at which he has been a member of the executive committee for many years. He coaches five days per week free of charge, specialising in the jumps, throws and relays. He caters for all abilities and a variety of ages. Some of the comments made about Ray by those who nominated him include: • "…he continues to help coach and develop young athletes to become not only good sportspeople but also good citizens.” • “Little Athletics would not be as strong if it weren’t for individuals like Ray…” • “He makes a difference in the athlete’s lives because he goes that ‘little bit extra’.” • “Ray Russell encourages young athletes to be the coaches of the future.” Page 2 RUN FOR FUN Turning Dreams into Reality The following article was written by John Nabers, a swimmer who won the gold medal in the 100m backstroke at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal. He speaks about how to turn dreams into reality by breaking what seems like a huge task into smaller, more achievable, more believable goals. His words contain invaluable lessons for all young athletes. his, you know, three Olympic week, so it’s only 1/300th second Setting Goals performances and figured in a day. We train from six to eight In 1972 Mark Spitz won seven 1976, 55.5 would be the order of in the morning and four to six at gold medals, breaking seven the day. That’s what I figured I night so it’s really only 1/1200th world records. I was at home would have to do. Therefore, I’m of a second every hour. Do you watching him on my living room four seconds off the shortest know how short 1/1200th of a floor, and I said to myself at backstroke event on the Olympic second is? Look at my hand and the time, “Wouldn’t it be nice program. It’s blink when I snap, would you to be able to win a Gold Medal, equivalent to dropping “The dream to please? OK, from the time to be able to be a World four seconds in the goal transition your eyelids started to close Champion in Olympic 440 yard dash. to the time they touched, five is the biggest competition”. So right then I 1200ths of a second elapsed. thing I learned had this dream of being an It’s a substantial For me to stand on a pool deck Olympic Champion. Right about chunk. Nevertheless, prior to Olympic and say, “During the next 60 then it became a goal. The because it is a goal, competition – minutes I’m going to improve dream to goal transition is the now I can decisively how important it that much,” that’s a believable figure out how I can dream. I can biggest thing I learned prior to is to set a goal” Olympic competition – how attack that. I have believe in myself. I can’t be- important it is to set a goal. four years to do it in. lieve that I’m going to drop Certainly, motivation is I’m watching TV in 1972. I have four seconds by the next Olym- important. A lot of kids have four years to train. That means pics. But I can believe I can get motivation. “Gee I’d love to be it’s only one second a year. That that much faster. Couldn’t you? great” . is still a Sure, so all of a sudden I’m mov- substantial chunk. Swimmers ing. My personal best in the 100 Back train ten or eleven months a was 59.5. Roland Matthes, year, so it’s about a tenth of a From John Nabers, winning the same event for the second a month, given time off Olympic 100m Backstroke, second consecutive Olympics for missed workouts. When you Gold Medallist 1976. (1972) went 56.3. I extrapolated figure that we train six days a Ex Little Athletes at the Commonwealth Games At the conclusion of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, the medal tally for former LAANSW members in Track & Field events was:- GOLD 4 (Rosemary Hayward, Kerryn McCann, Jana Pittman, Jane Saville) SILVER 2 (Luke Adams, Natalie Saville) BRONZE 3 (Fabrice Lapierre, Dani Samuels, Cheryl Webb) TOTAL 9 medals!! Congratulations to all of the former LAANSW members (31 athletes) that participated in the Games. Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 3 2006 NSW STATE TEAM The 2006 LAANSW State Team to contest the adidas Australian Little Athletics Championships on April 22 at the AIS Athletics Field in Canberra was named on March 19 at the conclusion of the LAANSW State Track & Field Championships. The team is: Under 13 Team Members • Jaimee Bannister – Illawong • Paige Fenech – Albion Park • Annaliese Gardiner – Ku-Ring-Gai • Rachel Hardy – South Eastern • Moana Heffernan – Holroyd • Amanda Jennings – Lismore • Shannon Jennings – Nepean • Jessica Moroney – Camden • Courtney Owens – Greystanes • Amy Pejkovic – Cherrybrook • Thea Welsby – Ku-Ring-Gai • James Connor – Campbelltown UWS Collegians • Jared Daily – Edgeworth • Cameron Hyde – Campbelltown UWS Collegians • Kurt Jenner – Mt Pritchard • Andrew Neville – Blacktown • Jake Rudge – Port Stephens • Gareth Ryan – Albion Park • Raymond Smith – Northern Suburbs • Maeva-Mui Teina – Winston Hills • Kane Thompson – Manly Warringah • Christopher Yip – Parramatta Under 15 Team Members • Jessie Devery – Springwood • Caitlyn Gough – Western Suburbs • Nicholas Legrand – Northern Suburbs • Lachlan Maxwell - Holroyd .