How I Ran An Academy Trial
We are here to serve, not dictate.
I ran a trial for girls in school years 7 and 8 for our weightlifting academy last Saturday. I used my experiences (good and bad) working for National Governing Bodies (NGBs) and for Sport England’s ‘South West Talent’ programme to shape the day.
More importantly, I used my experiences as an athlete and coach to make it athlete-friendly. I also leaned heavily on advice given to me by other coaches, many of whom I met at GAIN.
Here are the why, how and what I did. Some of it may be transferable to your situation.
The trial was also a taster. We started from scratch: there was no cultural background for girls (or boys) to participate in weightlifting in schools. It’s not on TV, and most people have never seen the sport. I had to ‘sell’ the sport to teachers, parents and, most importantly, the girls. Unlike NGBs, I’m not in a position of power where I can get away with commands and demands (nor do I want to), and parents trip over themselves to comply. I wanted to give the girls a decent experience and make them feel they wanted to come back if invited.
Role models are important. I was lucky in that an athlete I coached for many years, Jenny Rackham, now teaches at a local school. She promoted the trial with her tutor group and other year 7 and 8 girls. I also asked two of our most experienced members to help at the trial: they are in years 9 and 10.
Newbies should see people who look like them doing the exercises, rather than an old codger like me.
Teach before the test. I know that children are not taught proper movement techniques in schools. I wanted to give the girls something they could take away, even if they never came back to our club. We spent fifteen minutes warming up and then teaching a specific sequence with wooden sticks:
All of this was new to the girls.
“Training is testing and testing is training,” Vern Gambetta. This was in my mind when I planned the session. The exercises we chose as ‘tests’ were ones that the girls could do when they left the club: Broad jump (leg power), hanging for time (grip strength and posture), and side-lying leg lifts (structural integrity, taken from Thomas Cureton). All were simple to measure, required minimal skill, and could be done at home (or in the local park: we’ve got loads of bars in the parks in Willand).
Give them some autonomy. We know that athletes will come back to sessions if three things are present: learning, connecting with others, and some sense of choice or autonomy. Although the session was planned by me, I still gave the girls some choices: how many times they wanted to try and hang; what weight dumbbell to use, and whether to do a third set of the circuit at the end.
Some feedback from the girls and/or their parents:
“Thank you so much for giving R the opportunity today; she really enjoyed herself and came home very happy.”
“F had a good time and enjoyed the session.”
“S enjoyed Saturday and would like to do the course.”
“I was so sore, I had to use my mum’s stairlift!” S, with a smile on her face, last night at training.
“A really enjoyed last Saturday.”
Sixty per cent of the girls who came to the trial have signed up to train with the academy. The other 40% enjoyed the trial, but have other commitments at the training times (I did put all the information on the trial leaflets that parents were sent!)
This was the first trial I have ever run for our club, rather than for an NGB, private school, or professional team. I’m happy with the result: the collaborative effort and smiles on the girls’ faces were worth it.
The successful girls will now train every Tuesday and Thursday for up to 12 weeks, for free. I aim to encourage and support them so they get into good habits. Any weightlifting ‘performance’ will be a bonus.
This is my last post of 2025, so I wish all my subscribers a Happy Yuletide and a Healthy New Year.