Jenny Meadows and Trevor Painter on married life in athletics
Top British 800m international Jenny Meadows is coached by her husband, Trevor Painter. But how does the coach-athlete relationship impact life on and off the track? spikesmag.com caught up with the pair to find out…
How did you first meet?
TP: We knew of each other from down at the track but we hit it off after Jen joined the training group I was in.
JM: I always remember Trevor [a 47-second 400m sprinter] training with the likes of David Grindley [the 1992 Olympic 400m finalist] and he was always the joker of the pack. When I was 16 or 17 I joined the same training group as Trevor and that’s how it started.
When did the coach-athlete relationship happen?
JM: We got together in 1997 and then I had a bit of a falling out with my coach at the time. I was doing 400s and Trevor, who I had been with for a year or two at the time, volunteered to coach me. Straight away I said ‘no way.’ The reason? Well, when I was younger my parents used to take me down the track for an extra session but my Mum and Dad training me was a bit too close to home – I assumed it would be the same with Trevor. So I went with another coach for a year but I was doing Trevor’s programmes anyway, and it was at the end of that year I decided to take him up on his offer. I’ve never looked back, really. I made the World Juniors – won there [the 4x400m] and made a big improvement.
Trevor, was it as easy for you in the end as it was for Jenny?
TP: I’d had a lot of experience with different coaches such as Chris Butler and Vicente Modahl. I knew of things that would work, I’d had a lot of ideas.
JM: You just had no guinea pig to practice on!
TP: We started out at 400m and converted to 800m
JM: I think it was a work in progress for both of us. I wouldn’t say I’m really good with a coach who dictates. I'm someone who needs to understand why I'm doing things. And with Trevor I do understand why I’m doing things.
Was it difficult at first?
JM: It was fine. So many people keep asking us ‘how does that work?’ I do think I’m the hardest person and the easiest person to coach. I’m the easiest to coach because I’ve got a good work ethic and I really do listen, and the hardest person to coach because I’m a perfectionist and if something doesn’t go right I'm on Trevor’s back.
TP: I’m constantly explaining why we are doing things. You have to be patient as a coach because athletes are volatile creatures and you have to let them have their explosions from time to time. You have to know when to back off.
What is the worst falling out you’ve had over athletics?
TP (talking to Jenny): There are times when I thought we should miss a rep out and then you’ve gone and done it.
JM (talking to Trevor): Or sometimes you’ve told me to miss a rep and I’ve done the rep and then got mad at myself.
I’m a nightmare – I’ll stress at home until the next training session and really worry Trevor, and in the next training session I’ll have a blinder. Then Trevor will say ‘you’ve been worrying me for two days’. When I finish my athletics career I owe him big time.
TP: The trouble is with athletes they sometimes don’t tend to look at things logically. The slightest thing seems like a massive problem.
Trevor, what is the biggest obstacle from your perspective?
TP: It's an emotional tightrope sometimes, especially because we’ve got five girls and five lads in the training group and it can be difficult. If one of two athletes has a bad day you have to make sure they get more attention.
JM: Can I just say that during the training session I get no attention ever and it is because…
TP: Well you get more attention when you get home and have to give those athletes more attention on the track because I’m not living with them.
Are their any big advantages about being together?
TP: When we are planning sessions there is an understanding about what Jennifer is doing. If you give some athletes the sessions you are never quite sure about whether they have done them. I obviously always get instant feedback with Jen. Another advantage is because I live with her I know if she is stressed or tired when she goes into training, whereas the other athletes wouldn’t have told me that.
JM: I always say if I wasn’t with Trevor I’d want a really intense relationship with my coach and I think it would take someone very special to meet my expectations.
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