Steve Hooker insists keeping in touch with coach is always beneficial – Athletics news
Coaches are not only mentors for athletes, but they are also their biggest source of inspiration and perhaps that is the reason why no matter how busy successful athletes are in their games, they always try to keep in touch with those whose hard work on
them have culminated in making them capable of holding their present state of excellence.
Australia’s Steve Hooker is the prime example of such an athlete, who is always in touch with his primary mentor (coach), though he is no more being trained by him. He also takes time out for providing guidelines to trainees at the club of his coach.
The reigning vault Olympic champion, Steve Hooker, has revealed that as soon as he gets time to be at home (Melbourne), he likes linking up with Mark Stewart, his original coach, who was also a major contributor towards making Emma George, the pioneering
figure in women’s Vault, a success.
While sharing his experience with the veteran and the way he had impacted Hooker’s life and career, the Australian wrote in an online diary, “When I’m in Melbourne I always try to get to Mark’s session, talk with the guys he’s coaching and do as much with
them as I can. He always asks me to look at new kids he’s developing, and how they’re jumping. It’s exciting to still have that connection with Mark and Box Hill Athletic Club.”
Hooker further wrote that it was great to see Mark continuing to do what he has always been doing. He said that the veteran had played an important role in developing and promoting pole vault in Australia.
Revealing about athletes Mark was presently working upon, Hooker wrote that at present the coach had got Brodie Cross, the youngster who is expected to represent Australia at the World Youth Championships and was talented enough to have already had broken
some of Olympic champion’s club and state records in Victoria. Hooker said that Cross had the technical ability to jump really well and he could prove to be a good model for young athletes.
Praising the efforts of his former coach who had played a foundational role in developing the skills and career of Hooker, the Australian said, “When you talk about pole vault, I think who you start vaulting with, even more than talent, is an indicator of
success. If you start off on the wrong foot it’s hard to make improvements. Mark was my first coach, I learned a lot from him. He started me off with a really good technique.”
He said that during the first year of his career, Mark took real pains and focused upon helping him getting through his techniques and to progress back on longer run-ups. He was of the view that he was rather technically weak at the start of his career,
but with the passage of time he focused upon developing a technical base and understanding his abilities and demands of the game.
The Olympian was of the view that Mark was a good teacher and his ability to break things down for a better and simplistic explanation was impressive. Perhaps, it was this ability of his coach that played a great role in getting everyone’s attention in training.
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