European Champion links up with former coach Darrell Maynard. 4 August 2010

Newly crowned European 400m Hurdles champion, Dai Greene has been named in Sport Wales’ latest campaign, Behind Every Star.

Dai took some time out from his preparations for Barcelona to pose for a photograph with former coach, Darrell Maynard, as part of Sport Wales’ campaign.

A former athlete himself, Maynard is Volunteer Coach for the University of Wales Institute Cardiff’s (UWIC) Athletics Academy. He was Dai Greene’s coach from 2005 to 2007 and within a year of taking him under his wing had coached him from unknown athlete to a silver medal at the European Juniors.

Dai has never forgotten the contribution that Maynard has made to his athletics career; personally choosing him to appear in their photograph as his most inspirational coach to date. 

He said:  “As long as people are participating in sport it is essential that there are volunteers and coaches. All those sportsmen and women that compete at the highest level will have been coached by at least one volunteer coach in their career, regardless of their age.

“Volunteer coaches can help nurture and identify the young talents of the future and help teach them skills usable within their sport and life in general.”

Maynard said: “To be a good coach you must be willing to learn, talk to others and research in order to develop along with your athlete. You have to be there for them through the good times and bad and be able to pick them up when times are low.

“A coach has also got to be able to let go of the athlete when they need to move on which was the case with Dai, when he moved to work with Malcolm Arnold. It is important to support the athlete through this time in a positive way. Coaching is an art; there is no right or wrong way.”

“I was really proud to see him achieve one of his big goals, winning Gold at the Europeans! As a coach I helped Dai put the building blocks together and it’s a long journey to the top. Dai was part of our extended family with all the athletes that I coached, he would often come round for Sunday dinner. I also coached his girlfriend Sian for about four years.

“I spoke to Dai yesterday; it was good to have a long chat about the race and what he has achieved. He hasn’t forgotten his roots and I know he will keep his feet on the ground.”

Behind Every Star, is celebrating and recognising the hard work and dedication put into sport in Wales by coaches and volunteers all across the country.

In a bid to inspire the people of Wales to play their part in creating a nation of champions; esteemed photographer Terry Morris has turned his attention to the world of sport, capturing eleven portraits of some of Wales’ most talented sports people with one of their most influential coaches to date.

The Behind Every Star photo exhibition continues on its whistle stop tour of Wales with exhibits from August until October. For more information on the campaign and the dates and venues of the photo exhibition visit the website or http://www.sportwales.org.uk