Eilidh Child's fledgling career is only just beginning to take off but already the Scottish 400-metre hurdler is planning new ways to get promising youngsters on the right track to glory.
Like so many other rising British stars in athletics, the 22-year-old from Pitreavie has dreams of success at London 2012 and there's reason to believe these could turn into reality following such an encouraging breakthrough summer which culminated in what had initially seemed an unlikely appearance at the World Championships in August.
Child headed into 2009 with a lifetime best of 56.84 seconds but as early as May she had slashed this right down to 55.52 and within a whisker of the 'A' standard qualifying mark for Berlin - a real sign of progress considering her sole focus had just been to concentrate on winning a medal at July's European Under-23 Championships.
Not only did she go on to claim an impressive silver at the European U-23s in Kaunas behind compatriot Perri Shakes-Drayton with another personal best of 55.32, but she earned a place in the senior squad for the World Championships and creditably reached the semi-final stage.
Now Child, a PE teacher at Perth Grammar, is back at school for the new term and is looking at new ways to encourage talented=2 0Scottish kids in the area to take up athletics at what she believes is a pivotal age to develop the skills, speed and strength needed to go far.
The main thing is to show the fun side of athletics and also how to potentially get to the elite level and this is obviously important with London 2012 coming up.
Speaking at Perth Grammar, which was hosting a UK Athletics academy session aimed at getting local youngsters active in the sport, Child said: "There's a bit of 'back to reality' about it all - after all the excitement and highs of Berlin, I'm now at work again!
"It's nice in a way because a lot of the kids saw me competing in Berlin and everyone has been really supportive since I returned. But at the sam e time the summer gave me a taste of what it's like to be at the highest level so I can't wait for the season to come round again.
"What I would like to do here is set up my own athletics club which would get the kids involved coming in after schools and taking part in lots of events.
"We also have a track here and not many other schools in Scotland do so I'm trying to use these facilities that we've got to help promote athletics and getting the children interested in it. I think it's so crucial the kids do get involved at an early age.
"The trouble is they all want to be superstars already! But I obviously started off where they are and only just coming in to my own now. I was never the best at school - I was just there of thereabouts - so it's about getting kids to understand about working at your event."
Child, whose talents were first spotted while doing cross country at primary school, works part-time at the moment as she tries to juggle teaching with her budding athletics career but with the next few years ahead being so crucial she accepts there may become a point when she must put sole focus on the track.
She said: "At the end of last year I started doing my probation year of teaching and at that time I didn't know how I would be performing on the track. Therefore I thought it would be good having a part-time job because you just don't know what's going to be happening with your funding and things like that.
"The school really wanted me to stay so they said I could come in two days a week and that's ideal. It's quite nice having something else in your life rather than just training every single day.
"At the moment a part-time role is fine and this year shouldn't work out too difficult but obviously in the future, leading up to 2012 and beyond, I'll need to go away for intensive training for a few weeks and more time off to aid recovery - as I'll obviously be working that much harder.
"But the school understand and have said if I need time to away then I can take a leave of absence.
"The teaching is always something I can come back to because you never know just h ow long your athletics career is going to be."
Right now it looks as though Child's athletics career could be long and prosperous if she can continue the momentum from what she felt was a surprisingly good 2009.
She said: "At the start of the year I never even thought I would get to Berlin - me and my coach would talk about it a little but we then just kind of brushed it off. To get there I needed to take about a second and a half off my personal best and it didn't seem likely. We knew I'd improve but we didn't think it would be enough.
"When the season started off I started running well and then clocked 55.52 in May which was just two hundredths of a second slower than the qualifying 'A' standard and suddenly there was a chance that I could be going. All my goals and targets had to be re-assessed from that moment.
"My initial aim had always been the European Under23s and it was meant to be the peak for the entire season because there was a chance of getting a medal. But at the worlds, despite being a bigger event, there wouldn't be a realistic chance of winning one and the best I could hope for was the semi-finals.
"I would have liked to have performed better out there but the semi-finals was the aim as I needed to cut another second off my PB to reach the final, which was a long shot. My time did reflect it was the end of a busy and a long season for me and it was obviously a big leap from what I had done the previous year.
"Overall it was great to be out there and I learned a lot - it has given me a taste of more things to come."
Child is looking forward to what promises to be a busy 2010 season, which offers the dual challenge of representing Great Britain at the European Championships and also wearing the Scottish vest at the Commonwealth Games in Dehli.
She said: "I think next year the Europeans would be the main one to aim for because it's more of a major championships although the Commonwealths would also mean a lot as well.
"I think my coach and I would target getting into the final at the Europeans but it would be great to do well at the Commonwealth Games because it's the only real opportunity I get to run f or Scotland.
"The Commonwealths do have that sentimental feel to them and it would be a wonderful competition to be at. So we're aiming to do both but reaching the finals at the Europeans would be the primary objective."
If all goes according to plan next year, Child feels it could be yet another crucial stepping stone on the way to achieving ultimate glory at the London Olympics, where she hopes the home crowd will inspire her to the top of the podium.
"Realistically I truly feel I can be a medal chance at London 2012 if I can keep going the way I am, although I obviously have no control over what other people do," she added.
"At the very least I wantto be in that final but I think all the British athletes will have an advantage over the rest of the world due to having the home crowd behind us and hopefully I'll have a better chance of doing really well.
"By the time London 2012 comes I should be hitting my peak so it's perfect timing for me and Perri Shakes-Drayton, who will also be there."
While London 2012 may well be the inspiration for most English youngsters to take up or at least show more of an interest in athletics, Child believes the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 could have a similar effect for the youth of Scotland.
She said: "A lot of kids I work with have said to me are already looking towards Glasgow 2014 and asking me if I'll be there! Because its home, that's what they are looking forward to most, perhaps even more than 2012.
"If it was being held anywhere else these kids probably wouldn't know when and where it is going on but 2014 Glasgow makes them really excited."
400m hurdler Eilidh Child hosted an Aviva UKA Academy training session at the George Duncan Athletics Arena in Perth. The Aviva UKA Academy is a fresh new approach to grassroots sport, designed to give every child in the UK the opportunity to get involved in athletics by 2012. For more information go to aviva.co.uk/athletics
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