The Kent AC junior athletics group is going from strength to strength. We currently have 100+ members. We coach sprints, hurdles, middle distance, endurance, long jump, triple jump, high jump and javelin and hope to add shot put, discuss and hammer in due course.
We are an inclusive, friendly community club catering for all abilities, from those new to athletics looking to get fit and develop their skills, through to serious athletes. Most of our sessions take place on Tuesday or Thursday evenings. Occasionally there might be some training on a Sunday morning.
The junior athletes compete in track & field events, cross country, junior parkrun, the mini marathon, international cross-country races and England Schools Cross Country.
The junior training groups are open to school years 6 to 13 (10-17 years old)
Kent AC Junior Groups
Foundation Group
Most new joiners are recruited into the Foundation Group, which is dedicated to building skills and strengths. Here athletes will gain foundational experience of the various athletic disciplines – running, throwing and jumping. This is the main group for developing athletes and is a great place to gain experience of the diversity of athletics while also having fun.
Event Groups
Once an athlete has developed in these skills and strengths and shows good motivation, there may be options to move across to an event group for those athletes who wish to focus more on a single discipline and commit to training more seriously. You are likely to need to invest in spike shoes to join an event group (advice from what type to buy is available from coaches).
- Sprints – lead coach Dan Ansell
- Middle Distance -lead coach Ian Ellwood
- Combined events – lead coach Miguel Stucchi
- Jumps – Ted Aston
- Jumps – Dan Eliassen
- Throws (javelin, discus, shot) – lead coach Andy Lewis
All sessions are in groups, though if you have particular needs which might require an individualized development programme, do please speak with our coach.
Competitions and events
Competitions and events are part of our monthly routines at Kent AC. Taking part isn’t compulsory but we love it when athletes do take part – volunteer coaches and athletes put a lot of hours into developing skills and abilities, and competitions are where we can all put them into action, build team spirit and give something back to the club.
Most competitions require you to wear a club vest, and to be registered with England Athletics.
Club vests
If you have ordered a club vest it will be posted to you. Please email if you haven’t received it in the next few days. If you need to change the size we can arrange this. You are not required to wear your club vest at training sessions unless you wish to do so.
EA membership
If you are going to participate in competitions, remember to register with England Athletics. Here is the link: https://membermojo.co.uk/kentac/store. Scroll down the page. It’s the last item.
Communications
Newsletter
You will receive a weekly club junior bulletin featuring news but also cancellations or changes to the usual schedule. There is also a main club newsletter hosted on the Kent AC website: https://www.kentac.org.uk/news/.
Each of the junior groups listed above has its own Whatsapp group, where coaches will communicate directly with parents of junior athletes. Again, we recommend that you join this as this may be where we need to message to cancel or move a session at short notice, as well as to discuss sessions, technique, progression, upcoming competitions and events, and to share training resources.
Please speak to your group coach to make sure you are on the whatsapp group.
Setting expectations – behaviour and safety
Kent AC is run entirely by brilliant volunteers. They give their valuable time to support the club and young athletes.
Sports coaching is quite different to a school setting. We do have an expectation that athletes who attend are coming because they want to be here, and so we do expect athletes who attend to do their best (whatever that might be).
In turn our coaches will aim to support them in becoming the best they can be.
Code of conduct
To help ensure everyone gets the best out of sessions and stays safe, we follow England Athletics Code of Conduct for juniors, parents and coaches, and ask that all new members read these before your first session: Codes of Conduct – Kent AC
We expect everyone – coaches, athletes and parents – to be respectful of each other to support a supportive and friendly environment.
So that athletes can get the most out of their sessions we do not permit phones to be used on track except in an emergency.
Track safety
The track can be a dangerous place, with a lot of events (including javelins and shot) taking place simultaneously, and fast runners on the tracks.
To help everyone to stay safe and enjoy their experience the main things to remember are:
- always run counter clockwise
- during sessions stay in lane
- when passing other athletes allow reasonable space. If there is no space to overtake safely then wait until there is
- be aware of throws and jumps areas and do not cross them
- people will yell ‘track’ if you are in a dangerous or hindering place.
Safeguarding
We also take safeguarding and the welfare of our junior athletes seriously and have dedicated safeguarding officers for the junior team.
Filming and photography
Our filming and photography policy is here: Filming & Photography Guidance – Kent AC
Membership
The club membership year runs from 1 April to 31 March and costs £25 annually. You can check your membership status and process all transactions via membermojo: Kent Athletic Club (membermojo.co.uk)
Track Pass
In addition to the membership fee, all junior athletes need to purchase a track pass to train at Ladywell Arena.
GLL charge Kent AC to use the facilities. We share that cost, not at a profit, between all members. For juniors the fee is £6.50 per month.
You can purchase a multiple monthly pass to save the admin and some money, or one month here: Products | Kent AC (sumupstore.com)
When purchasing the track pass can parents/guardians please enter the athlete’s name (not your own) when completing the transaction.
Club kit
Finally, club vests are needed to enter any competitions, but if you want to show your dedication to Kent AC by investing in some less essential but very fashionable branded club kit, we do have a dedicated shop via the New Balance site – Kent AC Members | New Balance Teamsports
Parents and carers
Getting moving for parents/guardians!
Parents/guardians are very welcome to participate in our parent fitness classes which are held at the same time as the Juniors’ train on Tuesday evenings (17:45 – 18:45). Please ask for coach Adrian Musson.
Volunteering opportunities
As well as volunteer coaches, there are many other volunteer roles to support the running of the club, including officiating at competitions, supporting or marshalling at events, and working behind the scenes on administrative type tasks.
It is a great way to get involved with the friendly Kent AC community and give back to the club.
If you are interested in exploring volunteering opportunities, do please take the opportunity to have an informal chat with one of the coaches or volunteers on the gate, or email
If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to ask your coach – see you at the track!
Contact :