Junior Sport News . . . from PembrokeshireSport.co.uk

Adam is soaring to athletics success

Adam Davies is sixteen years of age and the Pembroke Dock youngster is already catching the eye in athletics as a very talented high jumper as he uses his 6 feet 7 inch frame to such good effect that he is already capable of clearing 1 metre 93 cms and is adamant that before the end of the year he will be achieving the magic two metre mark.
This height has already earned him his place as the No 1-ranked high jumper, not only in Wales but throughout the United Kingdom at under 17 level, and he is totally committed to his chosen sport, with the ultimate dream being a place in the Olympic Games at some stage.

Total commitment

to success

Adam knows this means plenty of hard work but he is ready for the challenge and to that end puts in a great deal of hard work, not only on his high-jumping technique but also his sprinting, now so vital for any top high-jumper since the pacy, bouncy run-up is so vital to get the elevation necessary to clear the bar at greater heights. He uses the Fosbury Flop, which is almost universally used now and demands great co-ordination since the high jumper has to take off on one leg, twist in mid air so that the head, shoulders and back go over the bar first before the legs are tucked in and over to make sure the bar stays in place. He learned this technique when he joined Pembroke School and received every help and guidance from games teachers Neil Truman and Gareth Thomas.

Disaster – and laughter!

There are inevitable moments of disaster as well as triumph and Adam laughingly tells the story of one training session in Swansea where one of the other competitors landed smack on top of the bar so that snapped in half, with one piece striking the startled high jumper in the face before the other half smacking him on the back of the head. Luckily, he was unhurt and was able to laugh with Adam about it afterwards - but it shows there is always an element of the unknown when one seeks the extra height needed and so practising technique is vital!

Superb support

Adam has been involved in athletics for four years now and receives every support from parents Adrian and Sharon, whom he says are ‘brilliant’ in terms of support, as are brothers Daniel (20), who is in university and has cycled a lot, and Jordan (10), who has already taken his first step in athletics recently. Also a great help has been Liz Rowland at Pembrokeshire Harriers as his high jump coach, whilst Dennis Doyle, from North Wales, has coached him to a new dimension in the Welsh Development Squad and is always at the other end of a phone or would even welcome visits from Adam if the Dock jumper felt it was necessary in between squad coaching sessions. Dennis recently spent a whole weekend with Adam and others at UWIC where he filmed Adam high jumping and then sat down with him afterwards to look in minute detail at the plusses and minuses of his technique.

Coveted Welsh vests

It all seems a long way away from those early days when Adam set out doing the Fosbury and soon doing really well as he won the school, county and Dyfed Sports with a height of 1.55 metres as an 11 year old. He has won these events every year ever since and as well as holding a number of records has done really well at Pembrokeshire Harriers so that he has represented Wales on six occasions, starting out in Cardiff and also competing at venues like Bedford and Birmingham. Adam readily admits that he was very nervous when he set out with Wales because he felt it was such an honour but has grown in confidence as he’s got older, taller and stronger – and keeps his Welsh vests tucked neatly away in a drawer at home.

Other sports supplement his high jumping

As well as his high jumping, Adam is also keen on rock climbing as a member of the ‘Rock Monkeys’ group at Pembroke School, where he has learnt the skills of a much different sport, as well as the safety issues involved, on the climbing wall at Bush School and then more recently on the climbing wall at the Water Sports Centre in Pembroke Dock. The next stage is to take those skills and techniques out onto the cliffs around the county and it is another challenge, which Adam is ready for. He also enjoys mountain biking with the family on trips to a mountain bike centre at Glyncorrwg, near Newport, Gwent, which, like rock climbing, is excellent for developing more leg power for his high jumping!

High ambitions indeed

At the moment Adam trains on a Tuesday at STP School’s track facilities where he builds up his sprint techniques and on Thursdays works at his high jumping, and is looking forward to specialist training in Swansea on Saturdays in the near future, plus weight-training sessions as another way of building towards success at major events when he is an adult.
There is inevitably a great deal of travel involved in search of long-term success and Adam is fully committed to doing well. To that end he is seeking a sponsor who is willing to invest in his capabilities and in return he promises lots of hard work and total dedication – and all any would-be investors in his talent need to do is use our ‘contact us’ page and we would happily pass on any details to Adam. He is clearly a very focussed young man with clear goals – and pembrokeshiresport.co.uk wouldn’t be in the least bit surprised if Adam Davies achieves them all!