Bob Willows has a coaching file to be in awe of. His accolades include an athlete who holds two British Age Records, two English Schools’ winners, two Schools’ International gold medallists, several Sussex County champions and record holders. On top of this, he was named South East Coach of the Year 2020. Kate Matthews caught up with Bob for a chat about coaching and how he is dealing with Covid19.
Kate: Who are you?
Bob: My name is Bob Willows. I am 67 years old, a javelin coach at Brighton and Hove AC.
Kate: Which athletes do you and have you coached?
Bob: Athletes I have coached include: Liz Korczak, three times English Schools champion; Edan Cole, also an English Schools champion; Dulcie Yelling, who holds two British age records at under 13 and under 14 and Grace Hailstone who won an English Schools silver medal. Then there's Rachael Wall and Luke Twigger who have won bronze medals at the English Schools Championships. Liz and Grace were both winners at the Schools’ International matches and both won silver medals at National Championships. Dave Bryce won a bronze at the National Championships whilst I was helping him. Liz and Dulcie hold all county records apart from the senior ladies and Edan is the County Under 17 record holder.
Kate: How long have you been coaching and how did you get into it?
Bob: I started coaching when I returned to athletics after a break whilst my own kids were growing up. I came back to compete but found I really enjoyed coaching and gradually it took over as my main interest.
Kate: How does coaching compare to the thrill of being an athlete yourself?
Bob: If asked which gave me the greatest pleasure, competing or coaching then I would have to opt for coaching. It is a tough call but I get so much from seeing the athletes I help do well at all levels: from the top guys down to the newbies I still get that buzz.
Kate: How often do you coach?
Bob: Normally there are two sessions a week at Withdean with other sessions at Waterhall on an ad-hoc basis. During the throwing season, sessions are technique based with a bit of strength and conditioning but during the winter season strength & conditioning are the mainstay of our sessions. Due to the lack of indoor facilities at Withdean we have to improvise sessions when the weather is bad but we have got used to this and we manage fairly well.
Kate: What are the highs and lows of being a coach?
Bob: The high spots are simple - whenever an athlete does well. I get an equal buzz from a new athlete getting a PB (personal best) as I do from one of the top guys getting one.
Kate: What is/are your proudest moment(s)?
Bob: Obviously Dulcie throwing her records were the pinnacle so far (I never imagined that an athlete I have helped would be a national record holder), but Liz’s third English Schools’ title is a very close second to that due to the circumstances of the event on the day.
Kate: What have been the hardest moments?
Bob: The only low point for me was going to Bedford a few years ago for the National Championships, two days running, and seeing my athletes manage 1 valid throw between them!
Kate: How do you motivate your athletes to keep going and focus etc?
Bob: All the athletes in the group work together and are taught how to compete. This is apparent when you watch them during warm-up: total focus, no chatting to other competitors until after the event and keeping warm and active whilst not throwing. There is one cardinal sin in our group and that is throwing a PB during the warm-up - they can hear me growling from afar if this happens!
Kate: What has coaching athletics brought to your life?
Bob: What do I get from coaching? See the above! I may be their coach but I am also their friend and if they have issues and they want to chat I will give them my advice and a shoulder if they need it. Coaching is all about the athlete, no coach ego. It is solely about helping all of the athletes in the group achieve their potential.
Kate: Has coaching changed over the years?
Bob : When I started throwing for the club there were no throws’ coaches. It was very much running with field 
events a poor relation despite having some great field eventers. I was 15 so you can do the maths as to when I joined Brighton and Hove, so I was self-taught which may well explain many things about my own throwing!! So when I returned to the club I resolved to help any of the club’s throwers as I could and in those days I coached all four events unlike today when I concentrate on javelin. I competed for the club in the National league for many years doing mostly hammer and discus and occasionally javelin, (we were very lucky to have some great javelin throwers in those days) and if we were short I would do shot as well.
Kate: What are the main difficulties that face you and your athletes in normal times?
Bob: In normal times we have few problems other than the odd idiot walking across the infield totally oblivious to missiles being hurled at them from both ends of the arena! I have to say it is not just athletes but it is parents and occasionally coaches as well! The lack of good indoor facilities is a major problem at the track but as said before we work our way around these problems.
Kate: What have been the main difficulties facing you and your athletes during Covid19, and how have you overcome these?
Bob: Covid has been frustrating rather than life changing. The lack of competitions (in 2020) has been hard to cope with but from the outset the group decided that everything we did was geared up for 2021 with the hope things would return to some semblance of normality. Having said that once competitions did appear the group have performed brilliantly with Dulcie breaking the national record for a 13-year-old, Liz has smashed the U20 county record, Josh Clarke managed to reach number 6 in his age group nationally and all the others in the group managed new PBs. Liz was invited to the National Senior Championships where she finished in 6th spot: not bad for the youngest thrower in the competition, 11 years younger than the winner! Once restrictions on meeting people outside of family were lifted we used Waterhall for our work-outs and this proved very successful, a huge space to work in, nobody complained about throwing there and in fact many were interested in the throwers and what they did. We had two virtual competitions there, with proper marked out areas and with bona fide officials (my thanks to Graham, Marcus, Linda and Jerry for this and the other parents who joined in). Then back to Withdean and after getting a system up and running we were back to step one, more frustration with more to come but we will get through it all with a strong group ethic.
Kate: How could the world of athletics be improved for both athletes and coaches?
Bob: I mentioned earlier that when I joined we had no throws coaches and sadly this is not much different now. I am the only specialist javelin coach and I would love to have someone to mentor and who could bring in new ideas to the group. Up until Covid we were so lucky to have Mike Winch and Judy Oakes coaching with us on the heavy events but sadly Covid has made them change their schedules and no longer appear at club nights. Julia Machin coaches throws with the multi eventers which is great but any youngster wanting to enjoy hammer are going to struggle to find help. So, if anyone does read this and thinks they would like to learn the joys of throws coaching please speak to me or anyone on the committee.
Finally I want to take issue with the National governing body for the way they have side-lined coaching, taking the grass roots coaches for granted and expecting the next generation of stars to spring from nowhere! I was lucky enough to be asked to join the National coaching group which was brilliant in that it brought together coaches from all over the country to discuss what they did in training, sharing their knowledge and experiences. Then the executive decided that this was a waste of funds and cancelled it despite the successes of this group of dedicated coaches: sheer stupidity and short-sightedness.