The Pain and Suffering of Coaching

It was a Saturday morning back in February 2002 and it was the morning before a race down the Gold Coast. The day was planned to do a small bike run session before heading off to work to then head down the coast to prepare for the following days race.

The funny thing with this morning was that I and my best friend and training partner Levi Maxwell, we both didn’t hear our alarms. The pair of us had never missed a session. We where as diligent as any of you as athlete and the day before a race, the training session to us was the most important session we could do before any race. I was staying at Levis as we were going to head straight down the coast after work. We thought about going down the coast for the Saturday training session with all our mates who also where racing but decided at the last minute to leave it and do what we normally do.

We had a phone call about 8.30am. We started work at 9am, we heard on the radio that one of Australia’s most promising triathlete’s had been hit on the road training in a hit and run accident.

We where both shocked that one of our great mate Luke Harrop had been hit whilst in the form of his life. Luke was the one trying to get us to come and train with him the day before the race. Luke could be pretty persuasive, not to mention generous. He had it all sorted stay with him and Emma (Snowsill) his then fiancée. He would feed us then let us train with him and his squad on the coast. It didn’t happen.

My Mum rang about 10am, she never rings me in the morning, Mum isn’t a morning person, and if she is up before 7am it is a miracle. I didn’t answer she rang 3 more times until I thought something must be wrong and when I finally rang her back. My mind was obviously elsewhere by this stage. She was crying screaming at the other end of the phone. “Are you ok?” Yes mum I am fine but Luke is on life support “Mum went on to mention she had woken up from a dream that had me in a bike crash and the driver had run over me. My Mum had woken from a dream but had visualised the entire crash that Luke was in even went as far as saying why did you go to the coast when you train in Brisbane. I said Levi and I slept through our alarms and didn’t even train little own go to the coast. I was in further shock. Mum had recalled the entire crash. Call it mother’s intuition but never not call back your mother. Don’t leave your mother hanging in uncertainty.

Being woken up at 5.25am on your sleep in morning isn’t the best way to start your day, and when it is one of your athletes reporting in that they have been in a crash literally makes me sick and makes me remember that day hearing about Luke’s crash. Same feeling same sensation that drains blood from your face to your toes.

Again I wasn’t there when the crash happened on Wednesday. Which for me makes it worse, what could have I done to save the crash? What could have Levi and I done if we were with Luke? We might have been the ones in the crash, we might have been able to protect Luke, and I might have been able to protect Angus, Courtney, Nick and Sarah. But I can’t always be there.

It seriously is the worst thing that can happen in our sport; there are many uncontrollable situations out there. Luke was hit by a drug and alcohol induced driver with no licence.

Athletes say to me, “you’re so angry when you coach the bike”. Wrong! I coach the bike hard because I know when you relax or when you just lose concentration even for a millisecond you can lose everything. I know what can be taken away from you. Everything.

We lost Luke, I have crashed a few times since and every time I come down or have one of my athletes come down he is all I think about. I know Levi and I won’t ever forget Luke but I have learnt from it and I know Luke wouldn’t ever want me to stop doing what I do because of fear. But he would want me to teach you all to never stop focussing on the road in front of you. Luke’s crash couldn’t be avoided just the wrong place at the wrong time. It happens.

Stay safe on our roads and with yourself

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