Greetings. My name is Wayne McMahon, and I am the head coach of the Winnipeg Optimist Athletics Club. I’ve been coaching since the 1970s and have been fortunate to work with many, many high level athletes. The amazing thing about high level athletes is that they were at one time, young and improving athletes. As they put in the work over the years, they developed into athletes who made national teams and provincial teams. The one common denominator is that long-term preparation led to success.
In WOAC, we have adopted the long-term athletic development model to help athletes to achieve success in the sport. It means encouraging athletes to do many sports when they are young, and to increasingly focus on some aspect of track and field as they move through high school. By the time athletes are becoming physically mature, they should be very focused on an event group.
I have many roles, one of which is that I am a person of first contact with the club and I will help place a young athlete with the appropriate group. As well, I coach multiple events such as the decathlon and heptathlon, but I also help out in the jumps, throws and mentor our younger coaches as need be. As a provincial coach and coach who has represented Canada, I have a unique perspective, and deep understanding of the sport and have contacts throughout Canada and North America.
If you wish to contact me, please feel free to email or call (204) 918-6167 (c). Thank you!