Dave Mills
Appearances
The Planet Reigate Podcast
45: Awards for 700+ years of local volunteering… and more
And what did you make of this evening?
The Planet Reigate Podcast
45: Awards for 700+ years of local volunteering… and more
OK, I'm Dave Mills and I'm a coach at Ryegate Priory Athletics Club. Mainly it's with the endurance runners, which are the youngsters who run 800, 1500 and cross-country. I go into a couple of schools as well, so I do general athletics, but for the club it's mainly the endurance side. We've had a lot of really good star athletes.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
45: Awards for 700+ years of local volunteering… and more
Last year we had two, Samuel Stakeley and Lila Unwin, who both got picked up by the England Athletics Youth Talent Association. So they're on a two-year scheme where they go up to Loughborough regularly, being looked after by the top coaches in the country. The club fosters this sort of success, really.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
45: Awards for 700+ years of local volunteering… and more
We have so many youngsters coming through, and it is just great and very rewarding to see some make it that far. As far as athletics, it started with my daughter. So that takes us back to about 2010 when she was a good runner. I think she won the primary school's district cross-country. So I got involved with the club at that time.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
45: Awards for 700+ years of local volunteering… and more
And having followed my son round all the cricket clubs and the football clubs in the local area, I was now going round the athletics clubs as well. I do it because I love it. It's just so rewarding. You see the effort that the youngsters put in and the talent that comes through and it's just great to see it.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
45: Awards for 700+ years of local volunteering… and more
There are people here who have done many, many more years' service than me and for such good causes. So I feel a little bit surprised that I'm here.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
45: Awards for 700+ years of local volunteering… and more
No, we love it. We love it. Sometimes in the summer, we're searching out some shade for the runners. But in the winter, I've often stood in prairie parks, sometimes with the sleet coming down, and one side of your body gets white with the sleet. It's just great fun. The weather's been no problem at all. All the rain is actually often quite welcome for the runners.
The Planet Reigate Podcast
45: Awards for 700+ years of local volunteering… and more
When they're doing a particularly taxing session, a little bit of rain helps them along.