We have a very active junior programme and are currently accepting new members.
Heaton Harrier’s Junior section was started in June 2008 and is managed by UK Athletics qualified coaches who have been screened for their suitability for working with young people. The club adheres to the UK Athletics welfare policy including child protection. Juniors are encouraged to enter local road races, appropriate track and field events and to compete for Heaton in the North East Harrier League cross country and internal club events.
Our Training Goals
Heaton Juniors are a team of dedicated young athletes aged between 9 and 19 years old who train alongside the club’s senior members each Thursday evening. Our training programme has an emphasis on endurance running and includes a mixture of endurance, speed, hills and technical sessions.
Our training aim is to prepare athletes for active participation in local competitions including the North East Harrier Cross Country League, local endurance races (road and trail races) and parkrun. We promote participation in school athletics and our training programme supports and supplements junior athlete training for school competitions. The club also has its own internal road racing and cross-country competitions which Junior members are actively encouraged to participate in.
Whilst our main weekly training session is on a Thursday evening, we recognise that those Juniors who are competing regularly have additional training requirements. Therefore we offer additional Tuesday evening and weekend track training sessions to those Junior members who are actively participating in club and school competition on an invitation only basis.
Heaton Juniors training takes place at various venues which changes from session to session. Typically, we meet at our HQ at Newcastle University’s sports ground, Cochrane Park, Etherstone Avenue, NE7 7JX, however parents are advised of the venue and meeting and pick up arrangements in advance on a weekly basis by email. Meeting times can vary between 18.45 and 19:15 with pick up typically between 19:40 and 19:50 depending upon the venue and training session. Parents are also invited to participate in the senior training sessions at the same time and many become members – we cater for a wide range of abilities.
Our Coaches
Junior coaching is managed by UK Athletics qualified, safeguarding trained, DBS checked coaches. The coaching team are experienced in coaching Juniors from beginners through to County standard with some of our current Junior members having been selected to run for Newcastle City Schools, North Tyneside Schools, Northumberland Schools and the North-Eastern Counties AA teams in regional and national competitions:
Jason Wall
Jason qualified as a UK Athletics Coach in 2016 and has been involved in coaching junior members since 2014. Jason is an active member of Heaton Harriers and regularly competes for the club in road races, cross country and fell races from 5K up to marathon distance.
Debbie Hicks
Deborah joined Heaton Harriers in 2010 and has been a junior Assistant coach since 2017 – she was also previously the club’s ladies’ captain. She qualified as a UK Athletics Coach in 2023. Over the years she has competed at distances from 5k up to marathons on track, flat and hilly courses but her true passion is cross-country season.
Dr Iain McKinnon
Iain is one of the club’s welfare officers and wellbeing champions. Iain is responsible for overseeing the welfare of both Junior and Senior members as well as ensuring that our coaches remain licenced and compliant. He has been a member since 2004, and has competed over a range of distances on the roads and cross-country, as well as supporting club events.
Junior Membership
We are now accepting new applications for junior membership.
If your child is interested in joining the juniors please e-mail juniors@heatonharriers.org.uk and we can arrange a few training sessions for your child to try our training to make sure that they enjoy the sessions. They can then decide whether or not they wish to join the club – we would usually suggest that they attend 2 to 3 weeks before making a decision. We will require each athlete’s details in advance of attendance: name, date of birth, address, parents’ contact details including emergency contact details, and relevant medical information including allergies.
Cost
Annual membership currently costs £23.00. There are no additional weekly subs paid.
If your child would like to join after their trial period a formal application can be made by emailing juniors@heatonharriers.org.uk