The Greater Manchester Sportshall Championships held on 27th January at Sportcity proved to be a great success for Trafford AC.
The club finished second in the medal table and also ended up as the club which received the most medals!

There where some notable performances on the day.
The u15b where all dominating with 5 gold and 5 silver medals, This shows how the club is developing, as little as three years ago we had no u15b competing in the Championships. Troy came away with two individual golds (VJ & 4 Lap) a silver (SLJ) and a team gold for the relay. Rivi came off his sick bed to claim is usual haul of Sportshall medals - a gold (SLJ) and silver (VJ).
We had several 1, 2 finishes in u15bs - Josh & Will - 2 lap; Troy & Jaikob - 4 Lap; Troy & Rivi - VJ; Rivi & Troy - SLJ & Troy, Josh, will & Jaikob rounded of the day with a storming relay win.
In the u15g Natalia maintained her unbeaten run to win the 6 Lap race.
As through-out this sportshall season the u13b team has been low on numbers, but it has never lacked quality - between them Dominic and George collected four medals, 2 gold (VJ & STL) and a silver (4 Lap) for Dominic and a Speed bounce Gold for George.
The largest team from Trafford on the day was the u13g - it was great to see some of the newer faces getting their first competitive experience for the club. As a team they ended up with 8 medals - the most pleasing result being a clean sweep of the medals in the Standing Triple Jump with Zalika, Imojene and Lili finishing 1,2,3. Zaliaka also colloected Gold in VJ  (unbeaten in VJ & STJ this season). A close finish in the relay left Zalika, Imojene, Georgia and Lili with a silver.
The u11 teams both chipped in with two medals each - again a close finish in the u11g relay denied them gold.

We will now await to see how many of the u13's & u15's get selected to represent Greater Manchester in the NW regional Final in Wigan on Saturday 16th February. We had a record number selected last year and ended up contributing nearly half of the GM team. Jerell won the individual all rounder competition in the u15b and went on to finish 3rd in the national final. Can one of our u15's replicate or even surpass Jerell's efforts?
We'll inform those selected for the GM team once we are notified by the selectors

There are many different methods for setting goals, lots of different advice out there and sometimes it can be all a bit confusing. So let’s keep this one simple shall we?
A goal to me is simply a ‘dream with a deadline’.
It is something that you have thought about within your mind that you would like to achieve at some point in the future.
There are long term goals and there are short term goals. The long term you might think of as ‘the dream’. The short term goals are the stepping stones along the way to achieving your dream.
Maybe the dream is to win a Gold medal. To win a specific championship. To be the best athlete in your area. Maybe your goal is to simply just have fun and do your best each time you compete. All our goals are different.
Here are three of my top tips on goal setting:

 Make sure your goals are your own
Too often I have found that people are chasing somebody else’s goal. Maybe even somebody else’s dream. This is a particular issue I have discovered in young people playing sport. Maybe the pressure comes from the parent or the coach or the teacher and the dream isn’t really the athletes.
I’ve seen this at the highest level of sport and it always ends badly.
When you are thinking about what you want to achieve in 2013, make sure it is what YOU want, not what somebody else wants. This can be a very difficult situation and if you find yourself in this situation, then gain the courage to speak up for yourself, to be honest with the people around you and to tell them how you really feel. This way you will gain their understanding, their support and their encouragement. And even if you don’t, you have done the most important thing of all – you have been honest with yourself. One of the most important qualities you can gain in life is to learn to trust yourself. The sooner you listen to your own instincts, the sooner and stronger you will build this trust in yourself.

Do your research
I would say the most common reason people fail to either set goals or achieve them is because they have not learnt enough about them, about what it will take, the sacrifices, the effort, the time it will take, the steps involved, how it will change their life.
Sometimes when you find out everything involved, it may change your view on wanting to achieve the goal in the first place. AND THAT IS OKAY.
Too many times people think they want something and then when they find out everything involved they are too scared to change their mind, because they have committed to early.
This can all be prevented by taking your time when setting your goals. Ask the people around you about what is involved, how long it will take, speak to people who have already achieved what you want to achieve, learn from them, then trust yourself and make your own decision.
Speak to your coach. Talk to them about your goals. Is it realistic? What will your training plan be? Get as much help as possible.
It is much better to take your time and get it right than to rush in and get it wrong. It will make the whole process much easier and then you will build a positive relationship with goal setting, which will be of great benefit to you throughout your entire life.


Love the journey
Recent studies in motivation have found that people who are only focused on achieving the end result are much more likely to give up compared with people who focus on the journey, the stepping stones along the way.
This is simply because people who are only interested in getting to the end goal end up feeling frustrated when things don’t always go their way and they meet disappointments on the journey. One bad race does not mean you cannot achieve your dreams! One bad season does not mean you cannot achieve your dreams!
Most people overestimate what they can achieve in one year. Most people also hugely UNDERESTIMATE what they can achieve in 10 years. Think long term.
When I first came to Trafford AC, I said to a group of athletes who were doing a hard winter training session they must learn to “love the pain”.
If you hate training, if you hate pushing yourself, if you hate working hard – then you are going to hate the journey. It is going to be much harder and MISERABLE. Who wants that?
Achieving the end goal means nothing if you have not enjoyed the journey. After all, the whole reason for setting goals is to ENJOY life more, isn’t it?
I hope so.
So make sure that the goals you set for yourself are enjoyable. If you don’t enjoy them, change them. Why waste your life and your time chasing something that makes you unhappy?
Again, the first point applies here. You choose goals that YOU want. Goals that get YOU excited. Goals that YOU will enjoy.
Whether your goal is to go to an Olympic games, win a race, run a particular time, or just to enjoy competing – choose a goal that you are going to enjoy along the way and you are much more likely to succeed.
The key to successful goal setting is chasing a dream that gets you excited and learning to love the journey and stepping stones along the way. This is a winning combination.

The reality is that sometimes you will not quite achieve the end goal but as long as you enjoy the journey, you will have spent your time well and you will learn a lot along the way.
Put these tips into practice and enjoy a brilliant 2013!

Martin Robert Hall

Saturday 12th January saw Emily Nash, Lili Boyle, Kim Snape and Tameika Cuff, compete at the Northern Athletics Indoor Championship in Sheffield.
Emily and Lili  registered for both the 60m hurdles and 60m flat, Kim and Tameika registered for 60m Hurdles.
We all arrived around the same time - 9am, and unloaded bags etc in a pretty good viewing spot.

Around 9:30am we wandered over to the warming up area, which was filling up with other athletes from the North, which was probably quite daunting for the young athletes….but they knuckled down and went through their warm-up drills, then  moved over to hurdle drills, and jumps with other athletes, as there was no room to set-up a separate area.
10am Emily, Lili and Kim were called to the call-room. to prepare themselves for their 10:30 60m Hurdle.

Emily was first up, in lane 8, looking very nervous she ran through a couple of practice hurdles before the officials asked them to line up at the start. Hushed silence descended around the arena, as the competitors positioned themselves in the set position waiting for the gun, which went off, and off again! Who twitched?....The official held up a green Warning card, across the line-up. Take 2 …and this time it was a clean start, Emily was in the middle of the pack, clearing the hurdles, and off the last hurdle put in an effort to sprint to the finish, an excellent effort and a time of 10:57secs 7th position was displayed on the big screen.

Next up was Lili, and her heat got away 1st time, and looked a fast group, Lili made a big effort to keep with the middle of the group and sprinted home with 10:70 6th position. Kim was in the next heat, and took up lane 4, she ran through a couple of hurdles to loosen her legs, then took up her starting position. The gun went off, and off again, and sadly Kim got the warning card. Nerves were obviously getting the better of her, as they all lined up again, and the gun sounded, and sounded again…..poor Kim twitched, and unfortunately was disqualified from the heat. Unfortunately neither Lili nor Emily qualified for the Finals, but a fantastic effort from all.


Next up was the U17 60m hurdles, and Tameika was in the 3rd  heat. Alicia Barrett who was U15 winner in 2012 with time of 9:20. Alicia, now moved up to the U17 was in  the 1st heat, and finished 1st in 8:98, Tameika was in heat 3, and breezed to the finish in 1st position with a PB time of 9:22.
It was then a long waiting game for the final. 

On the line-up both Tameika and Alicia looked focused and determined, the gun sounded, and Alicia got the better start, Tameika was battling in 3rd place at the 30m mark before digging deep to find that extra energy needed to move up the ranks, over the last hurdle she was in 2nd position, and sprinting for that final line, and any chance of catching Alicia was lost, as Alicia secured the 1st position with an amazing time of 8:82, and Tameika in 2nd with a new PB of 9:01, a fantastic sprint to the finish.

Later that afternoon saw both Lili and Emily competing in the very popular 60m U15 sprint. There was a total of 6 heats, Emily was again in the 1st heat, and they all got away cleanly, and pretty much kept together as a bunch, Emily secured 7th position with time of 10:57. Lili was in heat 2 and they also got away without any hiccups, and again Lili kept up with the main group, and romped home with a PB of 8:91 and 6th place. Due to the number of athletes in this event, neither Lili or Emily secured a final place, but both put a 100% effort in.

A great day all round, with PBs, medals and no injuries


Cath Hurst

The Trafford AC entries for this years Sportshall County Championships are as follows:-

u11b 
Jacob Dwan (1 Lap, SB, VJ, Relay), Joshua Grant (1 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay), Kingsley Nunes (1 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay), Marcus Blake (SB, VJ, SLJ, Relay), Seb Patrick (1 Lap, 3 Lap, SB) 

u13b 
Dominic Blake (4 Lap, VJ, STJ), George Hurst (SB, SLJ, STJ) 

u15b
Jaikob Miller (4 Lap, SB, Shot), Josh Pemberton (2 Lap, Shot, SLJ, Relay), Kaleb Marchan (Shot, SLJ, STJ), Rivaldo Brown (2 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay), Troy Johnson (4 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay), William Aldred (2 Lap, Shot, SLJ, Relay)

u11g
Alesha Gunn (1 Lap, SB, SLJ), Alice Pitman (SB, SLJ, STJ), Emily Pemberton (1 Lap, 3 Lap, SB, Relay-2), Issi Boyle (1 Lap, 3 Lap, SLJ, Relay-1), Kelechi Dunn (1 Lap, 3 Lap, SLJ, Relay-1), Laura Johnson (1 Lap, 3 Lap, VJ, Relay-1), Layla Wiseman (1 Lap, SLJ, VJ, Relay-2), Lily Wray (1 Lap, 3 Lap, SB, Relay-1), Orli Edwards (1 Lap, 3 Lap, SB, Relay-2), Taylor Gunn (1 Lap, 3 Lap, SB, Relay-2)

u13g 
Eleanor Cole (2 Lap, Relay-3), Georgia Beaumont (2 Lap, SB, VJ, Relay-1), Imojene Blackburn-Stennett (4 Lap, Shot, STJ, Relay-1), Jameelah Olugududu (6 Lap, SB, Relay-2), Jessica Howard (2 Lap), Lili Boyle (2 Lap, SLJ, STL, Relay-1), Lily Hepburn (2 Lap, VJ, SLJ, Relay-3), Mia Wiseman (4 Lap, SB, STJ, Relay-3), Molly Larkin (6 Lap, SLJ, Relay-2), Ngozi Dunn (4 Lap, SB, SLJ, Relay-2), Sadie Jones (2 Lap, Relay-3), Stephanie Arkaah (6 Lap, SLJ, Relay-2), Zalika Williams (2 Lap, VJ, STJ, Relay-1)

u15g
Allana Edwards (2 Lap, SB, SLJ, Relay), Chanelle Lauder (VJ, SLJ, STJ, Relay), Emily Nash (4 Lap, SLJ, Relay), Ese Osivwemu (VJ, SLJ, STJ), Natalia Nunes (6 Lap, SLJ, STJ, Relay)

Date: Sunday 27th January 2013 - team to meet at the venue no later than 11:30 - first event noon. 
Note the timetable for this event is different from the League matches - I will email once it is confirmed.

Venue: Sportscity Indoor Stadium

Team Managers: Tom Cullen, Cecil Lauder, Lucy Pitman

Spectator Facilities: There is seating available, but it usually tends not to be enough for all spectators, so you may wish to bring your own chairs. The cafe will be open for teas & coffees ect.

note - Trafford Vests must be worn for this event. Vests can be bought from reception on any training night.

Sunday 6th January saw Jack Crabtree compete in the BMC indoor Grand Prix in Sheffield and knock nearly 9 seconds off the All Time u17b 3000m record.
This means Jack is now the All time number 1 in the UK for u15b 1500m; u15b 3000m & u17b 3000m indoors.
Congratulations Jack!

The  start  of  the  2013  season  may  seem  a  long  way  off,  but  preparations  are already  in  progress,  with  club  arrangements.  Athletes  are  still  to  face  their  preparations  throughout  the  winter  months  in  readiness  for  the  coming  season.  The  club  could  well  see  a  number  of  athletes  coming  through  from  the  junior  teams  next  in  2013,  who  could  well  be  pushing  for  team  places.

The  performances  listed  below  are  extracted  from  the  league  results  of  last  season.  They  show  the  best  performances  of  the  third  placing  of  the  B  Competitor  in  each  event. If  you  are  able  to  achieve  these  performances  and  may  think  you  are  not  able  to  contribute  to  national  level,  then  you  can.

                      BAL  Div. 3.   (Men)                    UK  League  Div.  1. (Women)

100m                            11.1                                          12.5
200m.                           22.5                                          25.6
400m.                           50.4                                          58.7
800m.                        1.56.0                                       2.14.1
1500.                         4.09.4                                       4.49.9
5.0k.                        16.22.0                             3.0k. 11.19.0
110h.                            16.7                            100h.     17.1                                      
400h.                            56.9                                         64.5
3.0k. s/c.                  11.01.0
Hammer.                     37.65                                        44.31
Discus.                       32.90                                        38.90
Shot.                          11.89                                        10.26
Javelin.                       46.90                                        32.59
P.V.                             3.40                                          2.20
H.J.                              1.80                                          1.45
L.J.                               6.26                                          4.73
T.J.                             13.14                                        10.76

Can  you  reach  National  League  level ?
Bill Murphy