Conducts an in-depth interview with a

Jake, I still vividly remember day 1 of your training with the former coach: Mathew Croker and you were a timid, young boy, shy, introverted and totally focused on Matthew’s instructions, stuck off the rest, nearly agitated prior to the cross countries and lacking self confidence in your abilities. Today, years later, I see a totally different version of grown up Jake: Independent, livelier, sociable, likeable, positive self-esteem, proactive and strong presence during races. Rather than the former pre-race jitters, I can sense a positive approach for a race; unmatchable confidence whilst racing against senior athletes. Your results have been improving. I do understand that youths at puberty are introverted but such a welcoming transformation was quite unthinkable. To what do you attribute such positive development in your training; your social life and your interaction with others?

When I started running I was very shy and I would just go start my warm up and observe all the other athletes. All of them seemed to be much more relaxed and in control of the situation. The bigger the crowd, the louder and livelier the atmosphere would make me nervous and panicky. My coach at the time, Matthew Crocker, knew that I wasn’t the most outgoing and confident person so he would talk to me face-to-face just before a race started. He would tell me I shouldn’t be scared of anyone and that I should just focus on running my own race, go out there and enjoy myself, because after all that’s the most important thing about running. These simple words boosted my confidence and I pushed myself with the belief that as long as I did my best and had fun in the process, I knew I would run a great race. Those words of encouragement were enough for me to achieve confidence in my abilities. The more I progressed I became accustomed to the athletes life. From the training and the sacrifices to the final moment of the race, the more comfortable and relaxed I became. I started being more optimistic and confident before each tough training session or race. As time flew by I got to know many fantastic people and made new friends with whom I’ve had the pleasure of sharing my journey so far in Athletics. I’ve been able to meet different athletes and coaches from various clubs with their different opinions and perspectives. I respect all of them and I managed to learn lessons from all, contributing to my progress. All this has helped me grow both as an athlete and as a person.

You started athletics under the guidance of Matthew Croker who patiently and meticulously taught you the right and proper way of how to handle athletics. Matthew is a great inspiration to many and am sure he is one of your mentors. He always had great faith in you and your progressive improvement is evidence. At present you are being trained by another formidable coach: Mario Bonello: still very