Wigan Athletics Coach nominated for national award

By UK Coaching | 12 November 2024 | TAGS:

Trevor Painter, A Nike Elite Performance Coach who has helped develop some of the leading names in Athletics, has been announced as a finalist for the High Performance Coach of the Year Award, which recognises the achievements of a coach working with athletes at the highest levels of performance in sport, either as the athlete's personal coach or a coach of the national team.

Reflecting on the news, Painter said: “It’s always such an honour to be nominated for an award, and as this is a multi-sport award and not just specific to Athletics it makes it even more exciting.”

Painter has worked with 800-metre Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, Georgia Bell, Lewis Davey, Steph Driscoll, Ava Lloyd, Erin Wallace and so many more to help them achieve huge results and be the best they can be.

He currently works with a group of 30+ athletes, with seven of those ranked in the top 10 of their relevant gender or age category.

His impact on the local communities have been massive, whether that is going out to local schools to inspire, motivate and coach children to delivering sessions with local business groups on how the principles from coaching sport can be applied to boosting performance in business.

A key principle of Painter’s teaching style is allowing the athletes to learn for themselves ensuring they are independent and will ask athletes their thoughts on different race scenarios rather than just telling them what to do.

Looking at where his coaching journey has taken him, Painter added: “Coaching is now my career.

“It’s mostly all I think about, and I’m dedicated to constantly trying to find better ways of doing things so that it benefits the athletes that I coach.

“I started coaching as I could see there was a gap within my club providing support to regional and national standard athletes.

“I have always been a good communicator and leader so the role came quite easily to me as far as personal characteristics.

“I quickly realised how influential a coach can be on an athletes’ career so this motivated me on a lifelong journey of personal development.”

The UK Coaching Awards is regarded as the most prestigious event within the coaching community, established to recognise the invaluable role coaches play in building a happier and healthier society.

Previous award winners have included Sarina Wiegman, Judy Murray, Aston Moore and the coaches behind Lucy Bronze and Ben Stokes’ path to success.

UK Coaching’s CEO Mark Gannon, reflected on the breadth of coaching talent announced as this year’s finalists, he added: “We are very excited to announce the finalists of the 2024 UK Coaching Awards. Each year we see true excellence from our coaches in the UK at every level, and it is a welcome challenge to select our finalists.

“Coaches across the nation can all be proud of the incredible contribution they make to health and well-being in the UK.

“We’ve made some exciting changes to this year’s event and following the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games this year we look forward to welcoming some special guests from Team GB.”

The awards will be held on 10 December at The Queens Hotel in Leeds.

Find out more about this year’s finalists and the awards by heading to www.ukcoaching.org/events/our-awards.