Quality over quantity matters more to Brakpan coach

IRun AC coach Jared de Waal’s key takeaways from the recent cross-country season was focusing on quality over quantity when it came to training his young athletes.

The Brakpan resident guided his club to its most successful season since he started coaching. His senior runner, JP van der Berg won the junior boys’ 2km provincial title last month before placing eighth at the nationals on September 7.

Van Der Berg was also crowned the U19 laser run world champion in the UIPM Laser Run World Championships in China in June.

Benonian Matthew Pietrouisti finished sixth in his first national champs and he, Mikayla Mans and Kelly-Lynn Barkley also clocked top two placings in the schools district and provincial champs, which qualified them for the nationals in Kimberly on September 27.

“The most pivotal part of our season must be the schools district championships. Many of our athletes finished in the top in the various races. We were represented across three Ekurhuleni districts and many competed at this level for the first time,” De Waal said.

“This opened their eyes and made them believe what is possible at this level. It will lead them to improved performances in years to come.”

Not one to obsess about results and championships, De Waal understands the demands of athletics and the importance of allowing for gradual development.

“There’s literally no rush. They do not need to be Olympians at the age of 10,” he said.

De Waal believes in encouraging runners to measure their success on participation and effort, which fosters a positive experience for them.

“We are putting in measures to ensure we nurture these athletes for when it counts and hopefully bring forth a larger number of keen and happy athletes, who want to participate and be competitive into high school and later on, up into university level.”

De Waal and his charges won’t have enough time to rest. They have to quickly shift their focus to the sub-youth track and field season that starts on September 21.

“We plan to dive into this track season nice and strong off a very successful and hard cross-country season. We’ll use the club track and field as a pre-season phase within our training, with the main focus being the schools track season early next year.”

He will prioritise rest and recovery for his young runners so that there could balance their other extramural activities, school and training. Passionate and full of zest, De Waal spent over 10 years in various tracks studying different coaches before fully embracing his role.

“These children inspired me to firstly get active myself. Secondly, to start coaching in order to provide them with more opportunities and help develop them towards reaching their athletic goals,” said De Waal.

His greatest inspiration, however, is his younger brother, Hoërskool Oosterlig alumnus and last year’s Colgate Race 15km silver medalist, Cayde, who is “living his dream” at Indian Hills Community College in USA, where he’s an athlete and an exercise science student.

“In his first semester in the USA, Cayde placed fourth overall at the NJCAA outdoor track and field championships in the 1 500m and earned All American Honours. He recently started the cross-country season and finished 15th in his debut out of a field of over 90 runners.”