Leading coaches gather at Belfry
SubscribeMatthew Crawcour 24 November 2003
More than 300 of the country's leading Olympic and Paralympic coaches and support staff gathered at the Belfry today at the start of the 2003 World Class Coaching Conference, which has been co-ordinated by UK Sport.
In keeping with a profession that needs to be open-minded and innovative, one of the first people they heard from was one of the nation's foremost chefs, Gordon Ramsay.
Ramsay's address kicked off three days of intense work aimed at making the nation's best sports coaches even better. The three-day event is now in its third year and takes place with the Countdown to Athens fully underway and the 2004 Olympic Games just 260 days away.
The Conference theme is one of 'Teamship - the winning attitude', which has also taken on a greater resonance following the manner of England's Rugby World Cup victory on Saturday.
Warming to the theme, Ramsay took the Conference delegates on a journey from his beginnings in football and a dream of a long and successful career with Glasgow Rangers - which was ultimately shattered by two consecutive injuries - and the transfer of his passion from the pitch to the kitchen. His journey was no different to any athlete or coach striving to deliver gold medals - only in Ramsay's case it became a quest for Michelin stars, one that requires no less than 120% commitment.
As Ramsay explained, the chef's role was to oversee the ingredients before they go into the oven, just as the coach's job is to check every part of the support package before it reaches the athlete.
"I set out to become one of the best chefs in the world and realised that to do that, I would have to work with the best, so I walked into Marco Pierre White's team and what had been my job quickly became my passion," he added. "I learned that to become the standard bearer, you had to put the standards in place, achieve then and then work out how to maintain them."
With the number of the UK's sportsmen and women now standard bearers in their events since the introduction of Lottery funding, it is an issue that will occupy their coaches' minds as the Countdown to Athens reaches its final stages.
Ramsay outlined his approach to developing a team capable of being amongst the best in the world and it was a simple one: "The better I become the better they become, and I can't wait to pass the baton on to them. I was brought up never to ponder, sit there and cry over spilt milk. I've been taught to get off my backside and go out and look for the next cow."
Ramsay followed a series of speakers including UK Sport's Chair, Sue Campbell, and Chief Executive, Richard Callicott. Alec McGivan, Director of Sport for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, and Simon Clegg, Chief Executive of the British Olympic Association, also addressed those assembled.
Conference delegates now face an intensive two days of workshops on topics as diverse as 'Creating Champions' and acclimatisation issues posed by next year's Games in Athens.
