An inspirational athlete has been crowned England Athletics East Region coach of the year.
Dave Robinson, 53, from Kesgrave works for One Sixth Form College in Ipswich as an AI lead and lecturer.
He was nominated earlier this year for his efforts in making newcomers feel welcome to the Rushmere Community Runners club.
Dave – who used to work for Ipswich Town Football Club (ITFC) as head of education and welfare, helping support the development of players that have included Owen Garvan, Shane Supple, Jack Marriott and Connor Wickham – developed a ‘run bud’ scheme.
It meant that any time someone new started at his running club, a ‘run bud’ was assigned to help make them feel welcome and at ease in their new surroundings.
As a result of this – and his support of many people via his coaching during the last 12 months – he received a trophy and the title of England Athletics regional coach of the year.
Later in the year, all regional coaches across the country will have the chance of becoming national coach of the year – so Dave is also ‘in the running’ for this accolade.
In addition to his coaching, Dave has run over 50 marathons for various charities, securing thousands for charities. He also ran the Edinburgh Marathon in 2023 for a former ITFC trainee Shaun Meikle for Motor Neurone Disease MND – in support of Shaun’s father who passed away (because of MND).
On winning the award, Dave – who ran the Chelmsford marathon on the morning of the awards – said: “The honour of being nominated was great. But to win it was incredible. It was fantastic to be acknowledged for supporting running in the region. When they announced it, I felt a big smile come across my face. I’m going to celebrate with clubmates with a hot chocolate. But the award is not just for me – it’s for the whole club.”
Tanya Verow is the head of faculty for sport at One Sixth Form College. Tanya said: “Dave is an amazing colleague. We are immensely proud that he has won regional coach of the year. Dave works incredibly hard to ensure that people of all ages have access to sport through his work. He is a true inspiration and an all-round legend.”
David won a trophy when he received his award that he picked up at an occasion that was held at Ravenwood Hall in Rougham near Bury St Edmunds.
