Greg Rutherford is hoping to play his part in helping potential stars of the future emerge from the "woodwork" and is desperate to set the perfect example throughout what is another huge summer for British athletics.
The long jumper, who has his sights fixed on the World Championships in Berlin later this season when he competes at next week's trials and UK Championships, has been involved in the Aviva UKA Academy, which is a scheme designed to provide opportunities for every child in the UK to get active by 2012 - the year of the London Olympic Games.
And while the primary focus is giving youngsters a taste for the sport, Rutherford believes it could open up a gateway for talented individuals to be discovered where they might previously have slipped through the net.
He said: "The Aviva UKA Academy are basically trying to get kids aged eight to 15 involved in athletics and their plan is by 2012 to have given the opportunity to every child in the country.
"They're using people like myself, who have experienced athletics at the highest level, to give something back and show youngsters what they do and how to improve.
"I think it's a brilliant idea to get kids involved and trying different things and they also get to see people they may have seen on the television and realise that they are only human and that anyone can do it as long as they put in a lot of hard work. Everyone should be given the opportunity to give it their best shot.
"It obviously gives kids the opportunity to then pursue their interest with a club, if they're not already affiliated with one, and also get feedback on their talents from experienced athletes.
"In this country the objective must be to get children involved in athletics and get them a lot fitter. I think a lot of talent has probably gone to waste over there years because kids haven't been channelled into sport in the right way and I believe this scheme can really keep them involved.
"As long as they have the right feeder system around them then you never know what your next star out of the woodwork will be."
Rutherford endured a difficult year on and off the track in 2008 as he continually thwarted with a string of unfortunate injury problems while also having to come to terms with the sad passing away of his grandfather.
Despite making it to the Beijing Olympics on the back of winning the UK Championships, he was unable to produce his best in the final and a disappointing leap of 7.84metres saw him finish down in 10th. Frustratingly had he just managed to eclipse his 2008 season's best of 8.20m he would have snatched bronze.
But now following a full indoor season the youngster's zest for competition has well and truly returned and believes involvement in such a scheme could help his own performances as well as pave the way for a future in coaching.
The 22-year-old said: "It's lovely to be invited because it's not actually been that long since I've been classed as a professional myself. My first full season as a senior athlete was 2006 but now a lot of people I see on the British team who are now friends of mine I used to watch on television and be amazed by.
"So I find it easy to relate to young athletes as I can remember clearly what it was like and I wasn't actually that great as a junior. It wasn't until I was 18 when I made my breakthrough and went on to become what I am now.
"I've always said once my career is over I'd like to have some form of role in helping other athletes and sharing my experiences with aspiring young athletes - even those kids who are unable to make it to the highest level.
"Therefore it's nice to get a bit of experience now. Compared to others I don't have much experience but I still feel there are bits and bobs I can offer which I hope can help for the future. It also gives me a different view on things.
"Last year was tough20- both on and off the track - so this kind of thing gives me something else to think about and focus my energies on."
Next weekend Rutherford will be battling it out with his rival and training partner Chris Tomlinson at the World Trials and UK Championships and he's confident they can both spur each other on to big distances.
While Tomlinson has found some encouraging form so far this summer with a best of 8.23m, Rutherford is just beginning to find his groove following a full indoor season, which culminated in a sixth-place finish at the European Championships in Turin.
So far he's yet to register an effort close to his personal best of 8.26m in outdoor competition but feels this is down to a failure to consistently hit the board perfectly and as long as he stays fit and injury-free it's just a matter of time before he launches himself back up the world standings.
He said: "Initially the key thing for me was to just compete indoors because I hadn't had a full indoor season since 2005 so it was good to qualify for Turin. The training I was doing put me in the right direction and my body was starting to get into the right fitness and becoming more resilient.
"Unfortunately my recent competitions haven't gone according to plan in terms of distance=2 0but I have managed to compete twice in five days last week and perform OK without getting hurt. My body is getting stronger and hopefully this shows I'll be able to train as hard as I want as often as I want and progress further.
"I haven't been hitting the board and I know I must sort this out. Had I done that in my last two competitions I would have theoretically jumped out to around 8.20metres so that at least shows I'm nearly there.
"It gives me confidence but on the flip side I must get the fundamentals right which includes hitting the board and taking off properly. Hopefully I'll iron this out ahead of the trials next week and make some good distances.
"A couple of weeks ago I had a slight issue which made me lose a couple of days training. But we have to be smart with my training and not kill myself before competition. It's about just doing the right things and not over doing it."
Looking ahead to next weekend's trials, Rutherford added: "I go into every competition wanting to win - I've been training with Chris Tomlinson now and he's having a very good season so far so this will probably be my toughest trials ever. Of course I've won it three times in the past but I think Chris has won it more before I came on the scene.
"So we'll both be eager to beat each other but the main thing is we make each other jump far so we can promote the sport a bit more in this country. As long as we have a good head-to-head which I win then I'll be happy!
"I know I need to jump further than 8.20m and I'm capable of doing so as long as I hit the board."
Of course, training with his main British rival ensures he's always got one eye on the competition but Rutherford is keen to stress the blossoming partnership is working both ways.
"I get to see what he's good at and what he's not so good at and vice versa," he said. "It's a learning process than and we can push each other on. It helps me more than anything which is great and what I wanted to get from it.
"I'd been keen to train with Chris for the last couple of years so now it's happened it's been great so I'm sure the trials will be very interesting."
The world leader this summer is the formidable American Dwight Phillips, who has frequently soared over 8.50m including an awesome effort of 8.74 in early June.
Rutherford believes he can one day be on a par with those kind of distances needed to win gold at major championships but for the moment is content to play the patient approach and build on his potential year on year.
The 2006 European silver medallist said: "There's no short term way to get out to big distances - the only way to do it is t o have a continued period of training and stay away from injuries. This is something I've yet to have and once I've done that I fully believe I'll get to the kind if distances which will win me major championships.
"I do have the natural ability to win so it's just having my body believe the same thing and not break down so much - I'm only 22 while Dwight is about 31 so he's had nearly 10 years more experience and training than me, which is priceless.
"That gives you the resilience, the knowledge and the experience to become a champion and it'll be interesting to see what he manages to achieve at the World Championships. He's still improving at the age of 31 so I've got 10 more years and I don't feel I'm that far away from that level anyway."
Long jumper Greg Rutherford hosted an Aviva UKA Academy training session at the Southampton Sports Centre. 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
E-mail Article 
Print-Friendly
Subscribe to RSS Feed 
Post to del.icio.us
Facebook
