Darren Ritchie (England Athletics): The importance of Coach Development and Mentoring

Darren Ritchie is the Event Group Lead for Jumps and Combined Events at England Athletics. He previously spent 11 years at Scottish Athletics in variety of roles including National Jumps and Combined Events Manager, Performance Manager, National Coach Development Manager and Head of Coach Development.

In this podcast, Darren discusses:

  • His career as an athlete at International level.
  • How his injury experiences shaped his philosophy of creating robust, resilient athletes.
  • The notable influences in his coaching journey.
  • The various forms coach development and mentoring can take.
  • The importance of communication, empathy and reflection.
  • The importance of understanding the basics and sticking to them.

You can listen to the episode in full here.

You can find out more about Darren’s work by following him on Twitter via: @langleap .

Keep up to date with Athletic Evolution via our Website, Twitter and Instagram. You can leave us feedback or submit a question for future episodes here.