Sarah Dempsey races the Lindsays West District XC Relays at Kilmarnock (photo by Bobby Gavin)
By Aidan Gilbride
Nine years since her previous team medal, Sarah Demspey found herself back on the podium again at the Lindsays West District XC Relays as Kilbarchan AAC took bronze in the Senior Women’s race.
And, now as a young coach in the sport, she found herself on the same team as one of her athletes.
Sarah had a successful junior career winning many district and national medals and competed for the West of Scotland and Scotland on a number of occasions.
Like many others, upon starting university she faced a tough time juggling competing and earning a degree in architecture. Sarah found herself struggling to fully commit to the sport.
‘When I hit University, I struggled to stay competitive in the sport and life got in the way,’ she said.
‘Having that experience I feel as young coaches we can encourage girls to not fall away from the sport, even if it’s just keeping their toes in it for a time.’
After a long six years in university, she is back competing as well as coaching a new generation of female athletes all while working full-time at an Architecture practice.
Sarah had begun helping out at the club when her former coach Arthur Smith decided to take a step back following his terrific coaching career. Sarah saw this as an opportunity to start her journey.
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Nowadays in sport we are a lot more sensitive and understanding of mental health and physical well-being. Young girls deal with a lot of bodily changes that can impact their involvement in the sport.
For Sarah, she coaches a group of young girls and feels her being a young woman in the sport is vital.
‘I think there is a comfortability with a girl closer in age that allows them to kind of open up and speak to me about things they maybe wouldn’t have felt comfortable speaking to a male or older coach about. It helps.’
Sarah remembers well what it was like for her as a young woman developing physically as a junior. She stated that some weeks you feel great, some you don’t and there’s never any rhyme or reason to it.
With her group, she tries to look at everyone as an individual and adapts training to body cycles of three weeks hard and one…
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