Destination Toowoomba - Jody Erbacher's squad.
With the Carnival of flowers in full bloom we knew the trip would be special..but boy were we treated to a warm reception far beyond our expectations. Starting with a magnificent welcoming sign on arrival, could the day get any better?
Our hosts Jody Erbacher (Running Coach), Mackenzie Schefe (squad member and IMPI Ambassador) and meeting liaison mum, Karen.
The squad was a buzz and full of excitement for the upcoming camping road trip to Mackay NQ Champs early October. It seems their energy carried them through to some phenomenal results too. To name but a few of Jody's squad's accomplishments were - Mackenzi smashing 2 PB's and Brielle (AKA Miss Erbacher) clinching 1sts in the 1500m, 1 mile and 3000m Steeplechase in the women's open events.
So let us find out a little more about the squad.
Referred to as "The Cool Mum" by some of her squadlings let us start with Jody herself. A Lvl 3 Queensland Athletics accredited coach, her squad consists of athletes ranging from 10-30yrs covering most distances from 400m.
Jody started coaching when her own children joined little A's 15 years ago. To be a good coach Jody believes that the below 3 points are key.
- Being patient
- Keeping it fun
- Being approachable, so your athlete know they can share anything with you.
Jody has seen her athletes achieve some incredible results. One of these dazzling highlights she shares with daughter Brielle, would have to be - Taking Brielle to the finals of the Worlds U20's 3000m steeplechase in Finland, pretty IMPIressive we agree.
Coach Jody's Tips and advise for runners:
- Top recovery tip - Chocolate milk after training and treating rest as training.
- Top Advice for new runners - Give it a go you have nothing to loose, the only person you are completing against is yourself.
Running along onto some of athletes in the squad we asked Brielle and Mackenzi to volunteer up some interesting info we could share too.
Brielle started running because her little brother was having far too much fun at Little A's so she had to join in. She's since come a long way or should that be run a long way.
With so many highlights in her career she's got to have had a challenging race at some point right ?...ooohhh yes ! That for Brielle would be the 10km cross country at Limestone, in the middle of the day! Enough said.
Her running goals are always to improve her PBs and Brielle's Top Tip for runners is:-
- Always know your PB so you know what they are and you can always focus on improving them.
Mackenzi won her first cross country in Kindy and started training at the age of 9yrs when she made her first Darling Downs team, the bug had bitten and she's been running ever since.
Not only does Mackenzi share her school with former student, the great Kathy Freeman but also has drawn on her determination under pressure to achieve what she set out to get - Gold. Don't loose the fun though. Mackenzi says to just have fun and don't give up, even when it gets hard.
To end off we thought we would share some Q and A's from Brielle and Mackenzi:-
- Do you have a favourite distance?
2. What is your favourite training session?
3. What is your favourite post race meal or snack?
Thank you so very much Jody and her squad for letting us into their training and answering all our questions. - THANK YOU ! You are all amazing.
To contact Jody for further squad info call or message her on 0488 598 111.