Spotting rowing talent and turning them into champions

Date Published: 07-Feb-2013

ABarna woman, who is to the fore of the British rowing success story at present, could be one of Team GB’s senior coaches at the next Olympics after being accepted onto an elite coaching apprenticeship programme run by the country’s high performance sports agency, UK Sport.

No doubt, former Jes’, NUI Galway and Ireland rower, Neasa Folan is making an impact across the Irish Sea and her selection as one of just 12 elite coaches – chosen from Olympics, Paralympics and Winter Olympics – to partake in the two-year programme underlines the esteem she is held in.

To some, working with the cream of Britain’s emerging Olympic talent may seem like a dream job but 36-year-old Folan laughs: “The reality of being out on the river when it is minus five takes some of the dream out of it.”

In essence, what Folan does is spot potential talent through an “alternative recruitment scheme” – outside of the sport’s established structures – for GB Rowing. She is one of a dozen ‘Start’ coaches employed to identify people who have the physical and mental capability to be an Olympian.

Along with meeting the selection criteria, such as height a

nd fitness, candidates are usually high achievers already and show they have the application to undertake a strenuous programme that will take them through all the various stages of development right up to senior and, possibly, to winning medals at the Olympics.

“It (the system) is originally based on some of the East German recruitment programmes but we are probably a little bit more diplomatic and democratic,” chuckles Folan. “We obviously have 10 or 12 years of information on thousands upon thousands of people we have tested already and only really a handful ever come through to get into a medal.

“Probably, the best examples were some of the women at the London 2012 Olympics. Four out of the six gold medallists had been recruited and developed through the Start programme. So, it is proving itself to be a successful recruitment stream for GB rowing alright.”

For her part, Folan, who works out of Moseley Boat Club, was delighted to see one of her former protégés, Mohamed Sbihi, win a bronze medal in the men’s eight in London. He was originally discovered in 2003 when he was tested at his school, Hollyfield in Surbiton.

“We know when we get someone in, how long it will take them to develop, based on where they are at, or where they have come into the programme, or based on their level of fitness and what they have done before [in sport] as well. There is no magic in it. It is down to good structure and support and the consistency of those.”

In any event, other sports in Great Britain have begun to look at rowing – which claimed nine medals, including four golds at London 2012 – and embrace some of the principles they use. Folan remarks, though, that high performance in the UK is “uncompromising” and that there is an expectation of hard work from the athletes because they are being given an opportunity. Of course, it does not always work out.

“It takes 10,000 hours – or at least six years – to develop an Olympian. So, there is quite a long time to wait for a return on your investment. You are investing in two or three years down the line and often you will get athletes to a point where they are ready to make the breakthrough onto the [senior] team and they just decide it is not for them anymore. That can be frustrating because you after putting in so many years of work. That is why you run with several athletes at a time.”

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.