Latest news with #NationalAcademy
The National
3 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Eilidh Doyle on mission to pass baton to next generation
The most decorated Scot in track and field was on the anchor leg for GB and NI that Sunday evening in March and duly guided the women's 4x400m team home to precious silver medals. Six years later and Doyle is still passing the baton, only in a different way. Helping the next generation in athletics was on her mind even before she hung up the spikes, joining the board of Scottish Athletics in September 2018. Her life after competition features in an absorbing new documentary created for the governing body by Urbane Media. 'Eilidh Doyle – Passing the Baton' by Calum McCready features the 38-year-old talking about quitting competition, motherhood to two boys and giving something back to the sport she loves. Keynote speaking engagements with the National Academy, Awards Dinner and Club Conference have shone a light on the hurdler's career change. And she feels passionately that Scotland must draw on the top athletes to help educate and guide those now on the same pathway. 'I was a PE teacher before I was a full-time athlete and, even when I was still competing, I was exploring different avenues to see what was out there,' said Doyle in the film. 'In my career as an athlete, I think I learned a lot and I experienced a lot. And it was trying to work out: 'What did I learn and where would that be useful?' 'I think that's kind of where I'm useful in all my roles, because it's somebody who's been there and done that, who can give an athlete's perspective on it. 'I'm a member of the Board of Scottish Athletics. I also work with various coaches across the country. Read more: 'As an athlete, you're very much in your own bubble. Now that I'm out of that world, it's nice to kind of understand what's going on in the rest of athletics.' Scottishathletics recently posted a short series, 'Learning from our Olympians', with video content from Laura Muir and Eilish McColgan and that chimes with what Doyle wants to see. 'There are lots of us out there, athletes who have been to so many championships and had success or not had success, but equally have really important life skills and lessons and experiences,' she added. 'They can share that with others. We can use our athletes that are coming to retirement or are retired and try to tell their stories and learn about their journeys. I think we have some great people who can pass on what they have experienced and share for the next generation as well.' Further roles give her other opportunities, too. 'I'm also working for Youth Sport Trust, which is a charity. One of the main projects I'm doing is a programme called Set For Success. You work with young people, do various activities with them, do some work with them to sort of draw out those skill sets that they have, that they maybe don't know that they have. 'And then finally, I've just started a new role with Edinburgh University. Part of the university's aims is to set up performance hubs. My role is more as a sort of mentor between the athletes and the performance team. 'So yes, lots of different projects, but really exciting ones and areas I am very passionate about as well.' None of which was on her mind, presumably, as she took a lap of honour at Hampden after Commonwealth Games silver at Glasgow 2014 and then celebrated gold as European champion in the 400m hurdles in Zurich two weeks later. Eilidh Doyle chatter through her career (Image: Bobby Gavin) 'It's a great life, you know, being able to kind of travel around and do what you love, is great,particularly when you're in shape and you're running well,' she said. 'I think the highs just come when you're running really well and you're just full of confidence. 'For me, there was no better feeling than crossing the line knowing I'd just left it out there, like you've nothing left, you've crossed the line and you know it has been a really good performance. Regardless of times or positions. I think just that feeling of crossing the line and having given it everything that was always a real high for me. 'Sometimes you can train really, really, really hard and not get the result that you think you deserve. Everybody trains really hard and everybody wants those results so that can be the hard things. But the highs always did outweigh the lows in my opinion.' McCready joins Doyle at Grangemouth – where the Hampden track was laid after Glasgow 2024. And the memories, and senses, start to stir for the Pitreavie AAC athlete who began her sporting story in athletics and has openly admitted went off the rails while at university in Edinburgh. 'It's really funny like, in no way is it the same or do I feel like that same athlete in 2014 but actually being on this track, it's quite a humid day and there's like a smell that tracks give off,' she said. 'And when I was running round there, I actually had a little smile to myself because I was sensing the smell that took me right back to 2014. For a moment I was back at Hampden and it was nice because it was like, 'Oh, I remember that'. Thinking back gave me butterflies in my tummy.' Glasgow 2014 fell between the Olympics in London and Rio. Competing at a third, in Tokyo, was very much the plan. 'In 2019, I competed in the indoor season, and then I took a year off to have a baby, and I was pregnant with my first son, Campbell, at the time. In 2020, my plan was to come back after having Campbell and compete at the Olympics. If I was being realistic, that was going to be probably my last hurrah. It would have been a third Olympics. And then Covid hit and everybody stopped. 'Nobody really knew what was happening and for me, it felt like I had another chance and more time to get back to full fitness. I was thinking, 'The Olympics have been postponed for a year, I've got a whole year now to get back and be ready'. 'But during that time, and I think probably a lot of people were the same, my motivation was just up and down and up and down.' One day, on that same Grangemouth track, the motivation stayed down. For good. 'Literally it was just one day I was training at Grangemouth and I turned to Brian, who is my husband, but was my coach as well at the time. I said to Brian, 'I think I'm done. I think I've had enough now'. His response was. 'Oh, thank goodness you've got there, thank goodness you've realised'. 'Brian could see my motivation was not quite there. The determination, the drive to train wasn't quite there. But he couldn't tell me to quit; that had to come from me. I probably got there a little bit slower than I might have done. 'I think becoming a mum was an easier way to transition out of the sport. Athletics took up a lot of my life, you know. It was what I did every day. And even when I wasn't at the track, I was constantly thinking about making sure I was doing everything right to be the best athlete. 'Parenthood makes you balance and plan life around somebody else now and not just kind of geared around me and athletics. A couple of years later, we had Lewis, who came along as well. 'I love being a mum. It's hard. I don't know what's harder, training for an Olympics, or being a mum of two boys...' Watch Eilidh Doyle – Passing the Baton via
The Herald Scotland
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Eilidh Doyle on mission to pass baton to next generation
Six years later and Doyle is still passing the baton, only in a different way. Helping the next generation in athletics was on her mind even before she hung up the spikes, joining the board of Scottish Athletics in September 2018. Her life after competition features in an absorbing new documentary created for the governing body by Urbane Media. 'Eilidh Doyle – Passing the Baton' by Calum McCready features the 38-year-old talking about quitting competition, motherhood to two boys and giving something back to the sport she loves. Keynote speaking engagements with the National Academy, Awards Dinner and Club Conference have shone a light on the hurdler's career change. And she feels passionately that Scotland must draw on the top athletes to help educate and guide those now on the same pathway. 'I was a PE teacher before I was a full-time athlete and, even when I was still competing, I was exploring different avenues to see what was out there,' said Doyle in the film. 'In my career as an athlete, I think I learned a lot and I experienced a lot. And it was trying to work out: 'What did I learn and where would that be useful?' 'I think that's kind of where I'm useful in all my roles, because it's somebody who's been there and done that, who can give an athlete's perspective on it. 'I'm a member of the Board of Scottish Athletics. I also work with various coaches across the country. Read more: 'As an athlete, you're very much in your own bubble. Now that I'm out of that world, it's nice to kind of understand what's going on in the rest of athletics.' Scottishathletics recently posted a short series, 'Learning from our Olympians', with video content from Laura Muir and Eilish McColgan and that chimes with what Doyle wants to see. 'There are lots of us out there, athletes who have been to so many championships and had success or not had success, but equally have really important life skills and lessons and experiences,' she added. 'They can share that with others. We can use our athletes that are coming to retirement or are retired and try to tell their stories and learn about their journeys. I think we have some great people who can pass on what they have experienced and share for the next generation as well.' Further roles give her other opportunities, too. 'I'm also working for Youth Sport Trust, which is a charity. One of the main projects I'm doing is a programme called Set For Success. You work with young people, do various activities with them, do some work with them to sort of draw out those skill sets that they have, that they maybe don't know that they have. 'And then finally, I've just started a new role with Edinburgh University. Part of the university's aims is to set up performance hubs. My role is more as a sort of mentor between the athletes and the performance team. 'So yes, lots of different projects, but really exciting ones and areas I am very passionate about as well.' None of which was on her mind, presumably, as she took a lap of honour at Hampden after Commonwealth Games silver at Glasgow 2014 and then celebrated gold as European champion in the 400m hurdles in Zurich two weeks later. Eilidh Doyle chatter through her career (Image: Bobby Gavin) 'It's a great life, you know, being able to kind of travel around and do what you love, is great,particularly when you're in shape and you're running well,' she said. 'I think the highs just come when you're running really well and you're just full of confidence. 'For me, there was no better feeling than crossing the line knowing I'd just left it out there, like you've nothing left, you've crossed the line and you know it has been a really good performance. Regardless of times or positions. I think just that feeling of crossing the line and having given it everything that was always a real high for me. 'Sometimes you can train really, really, really hard and not get the result that you think you deserve. Everybody trains really hard and everybody wants those results so that can be the hard things. But the highs always did outweigh the lows in my opinion.' McCready joins Doyle at Grangemouth – where the Hampden track was laid after Glasgow 2024. And the memories, and senses, start to stir for the Pitreavie AAC athlete who began her sporting story in athletics and has openly admitted went off the rails while at university in Edinburgh. 'It's really funny like, in no way is it the same or do I feel like that same athlete in 2014 but actually being on this track, it's quite a humid day and there's like a smell that tracks give off,' she said. 'And when I was running round there, I actually had a little smile to myself because I was sensing the smell that took me right back to 2014. For a moment I was back at Hampden and it was nice because it was like, 'Oh, I remember that'. Thinking back gave me butterflies in my tummy.' Glasgow 2014 fell between the Olympics in London and Rio. Competing at a third, in Tokyo, was very much the plan. 'In 2019, I competed in the indoor season, and then I took a year off to have a baby, and I was pregnant with my first son, Campbell, at the time. In 2020, my plan was to come back after having Campbell and compete at the Olympics. If I was being realistic, that was going to be probably my last hurrah. It would have been a third Olympics. And then Covid hit and everybody stopped. 'Nobody really knew what was happening and for me, it felt like I had another chance and more time to get back to full fitness. I was thinking, 'The Olympics have been postponed for a year, I've got a whole year now to get back and be ready'. 'But during that time, and I think probably a lot of people were the same, my motivation was just up and down and up and down.' One day, on that same Grangemouth track, the motivation stayed down. For good. 'Literally it was just one day I was training at Grangemouth and I turned to Brian, who is my husband, but was my coach as well at the time. I said to Brian, 'I think I'm done. I think I've had enough now'. His response was. 'Oh, thank goodness you've got there, thank goodness you've realised'. 'Brian could see my motivation was not quite there. The determination, the drive to train wasn't quite there. But he couldn't tell me to quit; that had to come from me. I probably got there a little bit slower than I might have done. 'I think becoming a mum was an easier way to transition out of the sport. Athletics took up a lot of my life, you know. It was what I did every day. And even when I wasn't at the track, I was constantly thinking about making sure I was doing everything right to be the best athlete. 'Parenthood makes you balance and plan life around somebody else now and not just kind of geared around me and athletics. A couple of years later, we had Lewis, who came along as well. 'I love being a mum. It's hard. I don't know what's harder, training for an Olympics, or being a mum of two boys...' Watch Eilidh Doyle – Passing the Baton via
BBC News
3 days ago
- Sport
- BBC News
Girls from same Bournemouth tennis club win elite academy places
Two 14-year-old girls from the same tennis club have won places at an elite training Britton and Grace Watson are among five juniors selected in 2025 to join the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) National pair, from The West Hants Club in Bournemouth, will receive free coaching, education and travel to international Richard Irwin said he was proud of the club's "brilliant" achievement. He said: "It's made all the more special by how tough the selection criteria is."It's our aim to get players there. To have two - I'm not sure another club's done it. Couldn't be prouder."Dani's had something since she first came. A very natural ball striker, skilful player. "Grace - her work rate is through the roof. She has just worked so hard and given everything she had." The National Academy, which is for players aged 13-18, currently has 10 spend at least two years at the centre at Loughborough Britton, who is ranked 358th for world under-18s, said she was excited to be selected at her second said: "I've definitely had to work hard for it, it's not just come easy."I can just push my dream of being a top tennis player now."Grace Watson said: "I've been working very hard to get the opportunity to go there. "The dream is to be the best tennis player I can, win a few Grand Slams of course." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Report: FBI leadership considering moving training academy to Huntsville
FBI director Kash Patel testifies before a U.S. Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday, May 8, 2025. The bureau's leadership is considering moving one of its elite training academies to Huntsville. (Photo from U.S. Senate webcast) The Federal Bureau of Investigation's leadership is considering moving one of its training programs for local, federal and international law enforcement from Quantico, Virginia, to Huntsville, according to the Washington Post. Law enforcement agencies across the world nominate officers with leadership potential to participate in the 10-week training National Academy. The FBI has a separate training program for new bureau hires. That program, and other parts of the FBI's Quantico facilities, including the bureau's laboratory division, would remain at the sprawling campus in Northern Virginia under FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino's proposed pilot plan, people familiar with the discussions told the newspaper. Messages seeking comment were left Wednesday with the FBI; the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency; Gov. Kay Ivey; U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-AL, and Tommy Tuberville, R-AL; U.S. Rep. Dale Strong, R-Huntsville; and Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle were left Wednesday morning. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, the vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that Congress should be 'deeply skeptical of any plan to uproot the FBI's National Academy from its longtime home at Quantico and relocate it to Huntsville.' 'This move raises serious questions, starting with why such a relocation is even necessary, and at what cost?' the statement said. 'Quantico is co-located with other critical FBI and national security assets and before we spend taxpayer dollars on a disruptive and potentially unnecessary move, the Bureau owes Congress and the American people a clear justification for this plan.' The FBI moved an explosives training academy to Huntsville in 2016 and employed about 1,500 people in the city at the start of 2023. Republicans in Congress have named the city as a possible place for a new FBI headquarters, claiming the FBI's current location exposes it to political influence and leads to duplicated services. The push to move the National Academy to Huntsville has drawn criticism from some FBI personnel, who see little justification for the potentially costly move, the people told the Post. The FBI's training facilities at Quantico were recently upgraded, and the people familiar with the discussions said critics do not think Huntsville would have comparable facilities without significant new funding. President Donald Trump's pick for the FBI's director Kash Patel, has said that he would move up to 1,500 staff and agents out of the FBI's downtown Washington headquarters to satellite offices across the country. Five hundred of those employees would go to Redstone Arsenal, the bureau's large satellite headquarters in Huntsville. States Newsroom reporter Jacob Fischler contributed to this report. Updated at 12:20 p.m. with statement from Sen. Mark Warner.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Washington police Sgt. graduates from FBI academy
WASHINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) — A Sergeant with the Washington Police Department has graduated from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's National Academy. Det. Sgt. Steven C. Smith graduated from the program on June 5 and is only the third officer in the department's history to complete the program. Less than one percent of officers are able to even attend the program, said Chief Jeff Stevens. The program is 10 weeks of 'advanced communication, leadership, and fitness training,' Stevens said. This was the 294th graduating class from the program, which had 239 people graduate from 48 states and Washington, D.C., he said. '[Smith is] the one-percenter. Steve has limitless drive, whether it's pursuit of leads in a case or better procedures internally, he is always looking to improve both himself and the Department's service to the community,' Stevens said. Smith started in law enforcement in 2003 when he began as a patrol officer for the Greenville Police Department in South Carolina. He left Greenville in 2008 when he joined the Washington department and was later promoted to Det. Sgt., which is the title he currently holds, he said. Since 2016 Smith has been assigned as a Task Force Officer with the Homeland Security Investigations and has even served on the Illinois Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Stevens said. He also said Smith has received several honors with the department, including Police Officer of the Year in 2011, two Meritorious Service Medals, and more than 25 departmental recognitions in his 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
